The Ruined World
by Yue Twili
Summary: After crash landing on a world, destroyed as a result of a premature apocalypse, Sora has to find a way off of the world and back to his friends. Unfortunately, he got caught up with a certain vengeful Horseman. With no other clues to get off, the boy teams up with him. (Took place before Twilight Town's Final Visit) -on break-
1. Chapter 1

This is mostly a remake of an old story of mine. I decided to give it another go, but I hope that it would be better. And that I would fucking finish a story this time. But...you know how it is.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Darksiders series or the Kingdom Hearts series. They belong to their respective owners.**

 _Spoilers for Darksiders and Kingdom Hearts I and II in here. You've been warned._

* * *

He faded in and out of consciousness.

One time, he was looking up at the sky.

The next time, he was looking at the ground – a road that has been cracked and has vegetation growing out of it.

One last time, he thought he saw someone approaching him. He was unable to say anything, even to say 'help'. Instead, he just closed his eyes.

' _Guys… I hope you're okay…'_

 _ **~o~**_

The Gummi Ship sailed through space. They had done all they could; fought the Heartless, a couple of members of Organization XIII, and some bad guys that just don't know when to quit. All in an effort to find the clues to the Organization's stronghold to not only stop them for good, but to also rescue Kairi.

They had managed to shut down the MCP and its lackey, Sark, saving the town and learning it's true name: Radiant Garden.

The three of them are just sailing through, wondering on where they should go now, since they did what they're able to do.

It wasn't long until the Captain of the Royal Guards, an anthropomorphic dog with black fur, a green turtle neck sweater, yellow caprice pants, a pair of shows, white gloves, and a yellow hat with a pair of goggles on it. He held up a photo that was in the box they obtained from the Realm of Darkness, contemplating. "Hmm…"

"What's up?" A teenage boy with spikey brown hair, blue eyes looked over at the tall dog. He wore mostly black with a crown necklace around his neck.

"It's this here photo," the dog person said, holding it up. "Don't ya think there's something off about it?"

The boy looked at it. "…Huh. I think you're right," he said. He recalled a photo looking like that in the Usual Spot in Twilight Town – but there's no forth head with them.

A small cricket in formal coat and top hat popped up from his position in the boy's hoodie. "Perhaps we should go and visit Twilight Town again," he suggested. "There could be a clue on how to get there."

"Only thing we can do at the moment," an anthropomorphic duck agreed. He wore mostly blue with zippers, has white feathers, yellow beak and flippers, and an odd sailor hat. The duck is the pilot of their ship, since the sole human of the group still can't drive. "We don't have any other leads at the moment."

"Okay, so it's settled," the boy nodded. "Let's head to Twilight-"

Suddenly, the ship shook.

"Gawrsh! What was that?" The dog exclaimed before it shook again, making them fall to the floor.

 _ **~o~**_

"Ugh." A dull throb is what woke him. His eyes are still closed, but he didn't dare move. Not yet. It took him a while for the throb to dull out before he could open his eyes.

The room is… dimly lit. All around him is just grey. As his vision cleared, he got a better few. The room isn't grey… it's made of stone! He blinked before he slowly pushed himself up, wincing a little. Now that he sat up, he carefully looked around. The source of light is a couple of torches…and looking down, he noticed that his bed is mostly made of hay with a blanket over it. He also noticed that his shirt and jacket are missing. Frantic, he looked around before he saw them next to him, folded up.

He grabbed his shirt, fingering them before he looked down at his chest. It's got bandages on it, with spots of blood on it. How did he get-?

Suddenly, the memories rushed back to him. "Guys!" He exclaimed as he moved to get up- but groaned as his wounds acted up. "Ugh…!"

A door opened up. "You ought to be careful, lad," a guttural voice, laced with a heavy accent. "I just patched you up, pup."

The boy looked up…and became nervous. The man is stocky, and… not to mention HUGE! And not just in height, but… he looked like he could snap him like a twig. He wore mostly brown robs with a large belt around his waist, some armor around his shoulders, a blue scarf/cape around his neck, armored boots and vambraces with chains around them. The large man has thin white markings and a blue tattoo on his left arm, red hair with a small ponytail at the back, mostly bald at the top and a beard and sideburns.

The large man chuckled at his look. "Then again, it been a while since I last saw someone of yer kind."

The boy blinked. "Uh…"

"But, looks like ya woke up! You been out for a few hours, boy!"

"I have?" The boy asked.

"Aye, nearly sunset now," the giant of the man said. "I'm surprised that you survived that crash."

The young man looked away. "Well… I'm somewhat hard to kill." In some cases, that is true. There had been some close calls but… he shook his head. "Uh… who are you?"

"Call me Ulthane," the large man said.

The boy blinked. "Uh… okay, I'm Sora."

"Odd name for a pup," Ulthane commented. "But, it's yer name all the same."

"…Right," Sora muttered before he looked around. "So… where am I?"

"Other than ma home, this area is called 'The Hollow'."

"The… Hollow?"

"Used to be a part of human civilization," Ulthane explained. "The 'subways' that humans used to go around."

"Huh…" Sora let out.

He noticed Ulthane gave him a particular look before he turned, heading to the door. "Rest up now. Yer not good enough to get up now."

"Uh… okay," Sora nodded before the door opened and closed. "…he seems nice." Still… how did he end up on other world? He hoped that his friends got away safely…

Sighing, he laid back down, pulling the blanket over him. At least it's warm. He got himself comfortable before he went back to sleep.

 _ **~o~**_

The next morning, Sora awoke to notice that there's some bread and a cup next to him. Taking them, he slowly ate his breakfast – he hadn't eaten at all last night, but it's no reason to scarf his food down. And at least the water is fresh.

Sure enough, he finished his food, and looked around. It's still the same, but…with a start, he noticed his weapon leaning against the wall on the other end.

The Kingdom Key Keyblade. It's a simple looking weapon with a grey shaft, a yellow guard around the hilt, with the token being the hidden Mickey, and the teeth looking like a part of a crown is cut out.

Had Ulthane noticed it?

If he had, why didn't he mention anything about it? Better yet, why is it out?

Looking at himself, Sora felt that he felt a bit better in moving around a bit. Slowly, he stood up, planting his feet onto the ground. He had been laying down for a while, so he should at least stretch his legs. His legs wobbled a little before he caught himself onto the wall. Slowly, he moved away, standing straight for several moments.

When he's sure that his legs won't give out on him, he slowly began to put his shirt and jacket back on, followed by his shoes and his crown necklace. He glanced at his weapon for a moment before he decided to head to the door.

He wouldn't need his weapon at the moment.

It took a bit of effort to open the door but… he got it open. With a sigh, we walked around the 'home' for a little bit, exploring a little. He found a 'kitchen' but looked rather old fashioned, with an old stone stove, a stone table with wooden stools, and another large door.

There are others, but it's pretty rude to just go into other people's rooms.

He perked up as he got further into the hall. His ears picked up on something – a sound of something hard clanging against something metallic. Curiosity filled him as he followed it to the source. As he got closer, the sound got louder and louder until he found another large door. He pushed it open… and felt uncomfortable when he felt a mixture of heat and cool. He quickly found the source when he noticed that there are to parts of the 'moat' with one side filled with water, and the other filled with lava. Several more clangs were heard before the boy looked up to see Ulthane having a hammer and hitting something on an anvil. There are tools around a concave area away from the lava and water, from pinchers, among others.

Sora approached him, as Ulthane said, "Nice to see you awake, pup."

"Uh… yeah. Morning," Sora nodded before he looked around a bit. Glancing at the large man, he noted that he seems to be busy with something. So, Sora decided to leave him along for a while, exploring the rest of the place.

 _ **~o~**_

The rest of exploring didn't yield much, other than finding what seems to be an equipment room. He had SOME experience with finding some accessories… but not as much as much as equipment in terms of armor. Some of them looked kind of old, and there are other miscellaneous things.

Sora looked at each of them in interest, noticing the design on all of them, each of them vastly different from each other. There are lances, shields, and some other forms of weapons as well. Yet these didn't look like they've been in use for a while, with some of them rusted.

Sora picked up one of the weapons, looking over at it. "Huh… some of these look… odd," he murmured. This weapon looked… demonic. Who would use a weapon that looks like this?

He sets it down, looking around one more time before leaving the room.

Exploring a bit more reveals that there is a garden at the 'back', with what a person would expect, like tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, etc. He wondered where Ulthane get his meat from.

But other than those, that's it. The garden is nice but he wanted to know on what the world is like. He felt a little strong enough to walk around… but not enough to defend himself. After his battle with Sephiroth the first time a year ago, he did something stupid and hurt himself some more when he thought he was healed enough. He was forced to be put into bed rest for a while as a result. He isn't going to do the same mistake twice; he isn't THAT dumb.

Though, he isn't sure on what else to do.

With a sigh he headed back to where the room he woke up at is.

 _ **~o~**_

For the rest of the day, he just sat around or paced a bit. He wanted to go out and do something, not sit around. But he isn't sure on what's out there.

He thought about a lot on what could be here on this world. Earlier, he held onto his weapon. Not only did he notice something wrong… the Heartless didn't appear at all. While it's a good thing, since it also means that the Organization isn't here… it's also a bad thing as well. But it also disturbed him. Usually, Heartless goes after people because of the darkness in their hearts; whether they be humans or not. But… if there's no Heartless then… where are the people? He wanted to ask Ulthane about it… but… something tells him that he may not want to know on what happened.

Something felt really, really wrong. He felt it crawling in his skin.

With a sigh, Sora stood up and headed off.

One way or the other, he'll have to ask the large man about it. He didn't know when but he'll ask him eventually.

* * *

 **There's the first chapter. The next one will be up soon.**

 **Leave a review, please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Doesn't people ever review anymore? Ugh. I actually pre-wrote this chapter and chapter one a while back. Don't expect a quick update for the others.

And those who had played Kingdom Hearts before...you know that it can also be pretty damn dark too.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. They belong to their respective companies.**

* * *

Everything had been quiet for a rather long time. He's very certain on where he is. Felt it when he was incapacitated for a few times. And a few where he 'died' as well. But… how did he end up like this...? It felt like… forever, since-

Suddenly, he remembered.

The battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell on the Third Kingdom. However… something was wrong. Abaddon, the arch Angel and leader of the Hellguard forces of the White City, is shocked by his appearance before he was killed. He himself fought his way through, confused and angry – he felt the call that the End-War has come and yet… his power has been sapped and his brotherhood, the rest of the Four Horsemen, nowhere to be found.

He had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Straga. He was about to deal the death blow until more of his power was sapped, weakening him to the point where he was easily knocked aside and then crushed to death.

It's very clear to him that the Law has been broken. But… why was the End-War triggered prematurely? Why was Abaddon shocked to not only see him but there fighting the Dark Legion of Hell? And why was he alone sent out?

So many questions, yet so little answers.

Begrudgingly, he has to wait until he fully recovered. If he regained consciousness, that means it wouldn't be long until he would be out in active duty again.

With a grunt, the Horseman, War, began his wait.

 _ **~o~**_

It had been a couple of days after Sora crash landed on the world. Ulthane had been kind to him by letting him stay for a while and Sora really wanted to repay his kindness. So he tried to do some cleaning up and a few chores. But… some of them seem a bit impossible.

Ulthane seems amused on his attempts but he gave him a hand on a few things.

Sometimes, he would also practice a little with his Keyblade. He didn't make much movement, but he didn't want to be out of practice… just in case.

But, that question still lingers in the back of his mind. What had happened to this world? It's been a few days and yet there's still now sign of the Heartless. Or even Nobodies.

Finally, he approached Ulthane, as the giant man was working on something again. "Uh… hey, Ulthane," Sora called out over the sound.

"What do ya want, pup?" Ulthane asked, still working.

"Uh… I just… can you tell me on what happened here?" Sora asked him. "I've been wondering that for a while now."

The hammer was raised to strike down again when Ulthane stilled. Sora watched him, waiting for him to answer. Finally, Ulthane lowered his arm. "…I was wonderin' on when you'll ask. Not every day that someone with a Keyblade comes here."

"So you know about it?" Sora asked in surprise.

"Aye… weapons meant to steal the light back then," Ulthane said. Sora blinked – the Keyblade? Meant to steal the light? "But… you have plenty of questions, now don't ya?"

"Uh… yeah," Sora nodded.

The giant of the man stood there before he let out a sigh. "Come on. It's best to show ya," he said, placing the hammer down. He headed towards a direction, with Sora blinking after him. Tilting his head, the boy followed him.

Ulthane led him along the path that he noticed a while before, but he didn't know that it would lead outside. Sure enough, they got to a large, stone door. Ulthane grabbed the sides and pulled it apart. "Look outside."

Sora looked at him before he looked out… and did a take. "…!"

Whatever Sora was expecting… it certainly wasn't this. The whole area is… ruined. There are plants growing all over the place, buildings collapsed over… and what disturbed Sora the most is the fact that the sky looked so cloudy… and that there is continuous meteor storm falling towards the world.

"What… what happened here?" He asked, shocked.

"This world was closed off from the others for a reason," Ulthane said, before he made a gesture for Sora to return inside. Reluctantly, the boy did so, with the huge man moving away, letting the doors close. "Unlike most worlds this is… special."

"In what way?" Sora asked with a curious look.

"I'd doubt you hear about it but… this is where it all 'began'," Ulthane said. "It was originally a part of the ancient pathways that connects all worlds. However, it was severed when it was decided that this world would be where the 'End-War' will occur."

"End-War?"

"A time of war where all three kingdoms – the Kingdoms of Heaven, Man and Hell – would fight against one another in a final conflict, but only when the Kingdom of Man are ready. It was established that at the dawn of time. But… as you can see, something happened that had what you see in ruin. The End-War was triggered earlier than intended, and the Kingdom of Hell won."

"What? How did that happen?" Sora asked, shocked.

Ulthane looked up. "…Who knows. There are rumors that one of the Four Horsemen started it."

"Who are the Four Horsemen?"

"A brotherhood of four, fierce warriors. They are the last of the Nephilim, and the enforcers of the Charred Council. As for who the Charred Council is, it's an entity that are the 'watchers' of the balance of the universe. It was by their law that his world would be the final battle, to determine the fate of all three."

Sora blinked at what he was told…before he thought of something. "But if Hell won… then how come the demons hadn't been out to the worlds?"

"…Good question. Or it's the fact that there's a barrier around this world. If it broke, then they WILL emerge out onto the worlds."

The boy gulped at that. As if the worlds had enough trouble with the Heartless and Organization XIII, they don't need demons going on a rampage as well.

"But, not everyone agrees with this law," Ulthane suddenly said. "The Kingdom of Heaven isn't what you think of it as – not all of the pigeons are benevolent."

"…Pigeons?"

"The angels. Even some of them are bad." Ulthane then headed back down, with the boy watching him.

The boy got out his Keyblade, looking at it. ('Even… angels can be bad?')

And there was that comment where Ulthane said that the Keyblade were made to steal the light. And yet they're able to slay Heartless and release the Hearts the ones with Emblems. But King Triton's words from a year ago came to him, that it's able to shatter peace and bring ruin…

Does that mean that he was there when the Keyblade War occurred? Why he said all of those things?

…does it also mean that there are also bad Keyblade users as well?

At that moment, Sora realized that there's still so little he knew about the Keyblade. He never heard about it a year ago, and still learning a lot about it. The fact that the Keyblade was used for evil purposes – and probably still is… that's a really unnerving thought.

He lowered his head, his weapon lowered to his side and headed back.

 _ **~o~**_

A few more days went by. They were a blur to Sora. He helped out around the house, but he noticed that there's a look in Ulthane's eyes. Like… guilt. Why would he be guilty of anything? He didn't ask, because it might be something personal to himself.

Though he learned that the Keyblade has a rather dark history, he supposes that they can't control on what they are. So he wanted to be sure on using this weapon right, even if he wasn't its original user; hence he trained some more.

He removed his bandages a while ago so that they wouldn't rub against his skin wrong. Though, he's actually kind of surprised that he had healed up rather quickly. There are a few times that he had healed somewhat fast, but… this one is just on a matter of days. The boy didn't let it bother him, because it was a bit normal for him (considering that they used healing potions and magic to patch up their wounds).

But though he got some information put onto him, there's something else that he wanted to know about. Once again, he approached Ulthane.

"Hey, can I ask something?" he called out.

"What is it?" Ulthane asked, hammering away.

"…If Hell won, who's leading them?" he asked. He didn't know much about this stuff, but considering that this world had been separated from other worlds, some information had to be gathered.

Again, Ulthane paused. "…Some bloke who calls himself the 'Destroyer' – it's a title given to the one who had caused the End War to occur. I heard many things in my solitude. But I choose not to get involved."

Sora gave him a particular look. Somehow, he had a feeling that the conversation wouldn't get anywhere. "…Right. I'll leave you alone now." And he did just that.

That night, he laid on his 'bed', looking up at the ceiling. He knew that he can't stay with Ulthane forever. Or on this world. Someone like him can't meddle with what's going on. But he isn't sure on how he'll leave. He isn't even sure on _how_ he went through that suppose barrier to begin with.

There HAS to be a way off of this world… right?

It's a huge risk, but… he has to find out on how to get out of here. With him as a human, he won't be welcomed here, especially since he's a Keyblade user.

With a sigh, he rolled to his side, and closed his eyes. He better get some sleep.

* * *

 **Sorry if it's a bit slow. Sora's only human, so of course he had to rest a while.**

 **Leave a review, or at least leave some sort of feedback. That much would be appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Don't think of Sora out of character. In a place like this, and all alone, he has to somewhat be like this, in a world like this. Who knows, he could be sharper than he looks without Donald and Goofy around (not that I dislike them - those two have always been my favorite). But you know how they are. Also, I'll try to make this a wee bit original so that it won't be a rehash.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing here. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

The next morning, Sora got up pretty early. He didn't have a good sleep, with his dreams plagued by odd dreams. It has fire, fighting and death. He couldn't make sense of it, but… at least he got up at the time to tell Ulthane on him leaving. He had been here for a few days, and he had to go.

Slowly getting up, he put on his jacket, shoes, and his gloves before grabbing the Keyblade and left the room.

Walking around a bit, he isn't sure on where to find the large man, considering that he wouldn't enter someone else's room. So, he settled on heading to the kitchen. He places the weapon against the table before he sat on the stool. Though as he sat there, he then thought of something. Even if he does leave here, where could he go? He doesn't know this world. He's an unknown to this world, like how he was in some of the other worlds, but here…he's just…out of place. He doesn't belong here. He wants to find a way off this world, because…

The boy looks at the Keyblade. He may not be…welcomed because he has the weapon. He only had it for a year, but…although it helped him to be able to help other people, from what Ulthane implied, it also did its fair share of destroying other people. Sora puts his chin onto his hands folded just under it. A lot of people had thought of it as a weapon for the forces of good. It slays the darkness and help spread the light…but if it _steals_ the light…

Growing up on the islands, Sora never knew on what hurt is. The concept of 'bad' is from stories that he heard or read about. He doesn't know much about religion, but he knows enough that angels were 'good' and demons are 'bad'. Yet, Ulthane said that there are angles who aren't 'good'. That some can be bad. If that's the case, then there really are some Keyblade users who are bad.

Or maybe were once good and…things just happened. People has a reason, and Sora believed that no one started off 'bad'. The Organization were once humans. They were once good people. But time has made them like this. They wanted their hearts back…yet the method they went about it isn't right. They're hurting other people for their own goal. And Sora's not a 'picture perfect' hero himself. He can admit, he's childish, not that smart or even that strong, or talented. What he got going for him was the second strongest among the kids in a relatively peaceful world. He had lived on his world, blissfully unaware of the suffering of others. All that changed the moment his world was swallowed by darkness. Just a regular joe, thrown into the craziness that was his adventure – before and current.

Sora heaved a sigh, before planting his face into his arms when he laid them flat on the table.

"Well! Brooding doesn't suit ya!" Sora admittedly jumped from his seat when he heard the voice and turned, seeing Ulthane at the doorway.

"Oh! Ulthane!" He let out, getting out of the seat. "Ah, sorry, just…thinking." He recalled a bit of what he wanted to say. He noticed Ulthane beginning to move away to leave. "Wait!"

"What is it pup?" Ulthane asked him.

"Well…I kind of want to go. Like…leave and try to find my way home," Sora explained. "I mean, don't get me wrong, you've took me in and I'm grateful. But I can't…exactly…remain here forever."

Ulthane's expression was unreadable as Sora spoke. "Then where do ya intend to go?"

"I don't know," Sora sighed. "I haven't…thought that far ahead."

Ulthane shook his head slightly. "That can get people killed at times…but I suppose that even best laid plans could go wrong. So, ya wanna go home?"

"Well…at least try to," Sora admitted. "I don't want to feel like a burden on you. That, and…" his eyes trailed over to the Keyblade.

Ulthane looked at the weapon. "Ah. You're worried about gettin' into trouble, pup? With the big key about?" He waved it off. "Not everyone cares. The Keyblade are the business of humans. They're more concerned about their own wants and needs." Sora looked at him. "We don't know about humans much, or interact with them much…but humans are known for destroyin' everythin' around them as well. So, they're no different from them pigeons or them mangy dogs from hell."

"…Oh." Well, that's…a bit of a relief.

"But…ya still want to go?" Ulthane asked him.

"Yeah," Sora nodded.

The giant of a man sighed. "…Ya seem like a stubborn lad. But…something tells me that it's one of yer perks." He looked at Sora. "Take what you need from here. It'll be a long trip, ya know."

Sora looked surprised, before he looked around. "Are you sure?"

"Aye. I got enough to last me a while, and I know a thing or two about farmin'."

Sora looked uncertain…but nodded. "Okay." Ulthane left, leaving Sora to look around a bit.

 _ **~o~**_

Sora looked over a few things he has. Some food to last him a while if he rations it carefully, and a canteen that would give him fresh water. While he does eat food while on the ship and on other worlds, before he left Traverse Town the first time, he bought himself a canteen and filled it with water. He held onto that canteen for a year, before he had to replace it in Radiant Garden, a bit after they got to the world a few months back.

Sora had filled it up with water beforehand, and found a pack he could use to store the food he got out in. It looked to be in good shape, so he put some of the food into it, them carefully folded up.

At least it's a bit light enough for him to carry it around without it hindering him, when he put it over his shoulder to test its weight. He nodded his approval, hooking the canteen to the side. He picked up the Keyblade and walked out of the kitchen to find Ulthane.

He looked around for a bit, trying to find him. But as he passes the way to the entrance, he heard, "Pup! Over here!"

The boy did a bit of a double take, looking to the direction where Ulthane showed him what outside is like. "Oh." He jogged over to him. "Umm…"

"Now, don't try to make anything sappy," Ulthane stopped him by holding up his hand.

Sora slowly closed his mouth. "…All right then."

Ulthane pulled the stone doors open, showing the outside again. "Now, see that large tower in the distance?" He gestured his head to something, with Sora looking up. There is a dark, ominous tower in the distance, with several pieces of it floating around it. "That tower is not where you should tread lightly, pup."

"Why not?" Sora asked.

"That…is where the one who ruined this world is. A lad like yerself is not gonna last long if ya go up against him."

"He's that powerful?"

"Aye. There are also demons about, so ya can't let yer guard down," Ulthane warned. "But that way is around where you could at least get a semblance of an old city. There's a lot more to the world…it has its perils so you best be prepared."

Sora furrowed his brows in thought. Demons may not be like the Heartless nor the Nobodies. They can be smarter. More organized. While Organization XIII are their leaders – humanoid in form – they can be smart. Though…

" _Roxas…why…?"_ A distraught cry entered his mind, along with the memory of it- he shook his head. He can't- he can't think about that. Nobodies don't have hearts. Right?

"OK," Sora said. "I'll try to be careful." He looks at Ulthane. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, now go! I can't hold it open forever!" Sora nodded before he soon walks out. The stone doors closed behind him. The teenage boy looked around the place, then at the sky, with meteors still falling. He glanced at the tower in the distance.

"…Well, here I go," he muttered, hefting the bag over his shoulder before he soon heads off.

He doesn't know what awaits him, but he hopes he can take it.

Hopes so, being the keywords there.

* * *

 **This is the third bit of prewritten chapters. I'm just waiting for a while until I could post a few more - maybe edit them while I'm at it myself. It may take a couple of days, or weeks, or even a month, but we'll see. While I'm holding them off, I'll be typing more chapters. It kind of works that way, I suppose.**

 **So...leave a review if you can.**


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, I'm adding a bit of realism here. I'm...honestly trying to not make this into a rehash. Some of the stories that I've read (and liked) were taken down because of that. So let's see if we can at least try to make it a wee bit original here.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Darksiders and Kingdom Hearts. They belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

"We're under attack!" Shrilled a small chipmunk with a black nose and a single tooth. He had on a worker tunic with a hidden mickey symbol, and gloves.

"We gotta get out of here!" Another cried out panicking. While he has the same outfit as the first one, he has a red nose and buck teeth.

"We're trying!" Donald shouted as he frantically maneuvered the ship to dodge the blasts. But the Heartless ships were unusually persistent. Sora and Goofy had been firing at the ships, managing to take down several, but more just kept **coming**!

"Where did they even come from?!" Sora exclaimed as Donald tried to lose them.

"We can wonder about that later!" Donald shouted. "We have to get away from them!" He looked to the engineers. "Chip, Dale, can you activate the warp?"

"We can't at this point!" Chip called out.

"Well, THINK of something!" Donald exclaimed.

"We're trying!" Dale called out.

Donald gave a growl as he pilots the ship. He has to lose them somehow. Sora had put all of his focus on blasting down the ships. He has no idea how long it had been going, but he and Goofy had managed to bring down enough of them.

"Okay! I think we're good!" Sora said.

But then: "Uh oh!"

"What?" Sora asked.

"We're picking up something big!" Chip answered, before they passed an asteroid…

…And his eyes went wide. "Oh my…" He let out in shock.

It…was a massive ship. How did they manage to make something like THAT? It isn't like some of the other ships and such on the other routes they had went through. The cannons aimed at their ship, before they unleashed their barrage.

 _ **~o~**_

Sora jumped as he woke up. He had been hiding out in a building where he had found shelter. He mostly climbed the building and found a room with no windows. He had to barricade the door, just in case before he slept.

He heaved a sigh before leaning against the wall. The boy had been walking for days. At least, it felt like days. He can't exactly tell with the sky. He knows that the sun is out, but even at night, the sky remains cloudy.

A while before, he was ambushed by a small band of demons. Probably just…scavengers, but they certainly surprised him. It was during one of the nights where he was resting…and they had come in through the windows. It was his first encounter with several demons. It nearly went badly, but…he managed to pull it off, taking them down.

But the boy will admit, that was close…REALLY. Close. The demons don't play around. After his journeys (along with being a part of a war in the Land of the Dragons), he quickly learned on how to adapt. That training for the war had been…something. So, he mostly learned on finding at least a place where he won't be ambushed like that again. There are some demons that can climb, so climbing trees won't be able to save him.

Not to mention that there is a possibility that they would track his scent. He should at least find a place where he could bath to get the scent off of him…not to mention the blood from the demons that got onto him.

Of course, he had several more run ins with some more demons. Probably the grunts, like the Shadow Heartless and the Dusk Nobodies. But they're still dangerous, regardless. And even if you're stronger, they can overwhelm you in numbers. He couldn't forget the many times he had nearly died because of that carelessness. And without his friends around, he couldn't afford to be careless.

Shaking his head of his thoughts, he slowly stood up and stretched his legs. He doesn't know what time it is, but he should at least go on out and see. The boy moved some of the stuff aside, and peered out a bit. It looked to be dawn now. He opens the door further to see outside better, looking at both ways for any sign of danger. There is none. For now.

He gently closes the door, heading over to where he had placed his things – the bag and his weapon. The Keyblade is placed next to him, in case anything happens, like a demon had managed to find him, and is trying to get in. Sora pulls the bag over his shoulders again, and slowly opened the door again. Looking around a bit more, he had to make sure that there wasn't anything waiting for him. Seeing none, he carefully slides out of the room, and closes the door behind him.

"Back on the road again…" he muttered, before he walks off. He ignored the bodies he walked past, as he heads outside.

Several more days (is it days? He can't tell) had passed, since then. As the buildings soon turned to nature, it's becoming a bit more difficult to find shelter for the night – and it's dangerous to continue as well. He couldn't make a fire, as it would draw attention to him. It was one of the lessons Shang had given him, that it would make for an ambush. Not unless he's able to find decent cover. But because he's unable to find a cave, he had to settle for finding other areas to sleep. With the place overrun by plants, there isn't no visible paths so far. So the demons hadn't even attempted to go through here. Sora proposes that it's probably a good thing. So he had to sleep in the trees while he was traversing through it. And after a couple of days, he soon got out of the forest.

And into another large city.

…And unfortunately for him, he seems to be near where that ominous tower is.

"…Well that's just great," Sora said with a look. "I ended up in the city where that tower is." Which is likely to have more demons. Great.

The boy looked around. There's probably other places he can get to through this city. Who knows how big this world is. And after seeing the other city he went by days (or weeks) ago, something tells him that he won't see any other humans. The End-War occurred, and Hell had won…so there's no way that there would be any survivors of humanity. In all honesty, Sora isn't sure if he should be thankful that it didn't happen to the other worlds outside of this one…or feel awful that the people on this world suffered. They were probably living normal lives up until that moment. Like he did at one point back then.

There's no greater sadness, in knowing that all you knew and loved is…gone. These people thought that they were safe. Not just them. A dog waiting for their master to come home from work… A cat curled up in their nook… So much life. Although there are no humans, there's still life on this world. With trees, flowers… the animals that are still surviving, despite how hellish the world had gotten (literally).

Sora gave a sigh. "…Being sad like this won't help me out," he said to himself. "Gotta keep moving forward." So he continued to walk.

While a part of him wants to cut down the being responsible for this…he's not powerful. They're called the 'Destroyer' for a reason.

Yet people say that it was this 'War' guy that had caused it. How can a single person start this off? He's supposed to be a person who brings balance, right? Why would someone who protects it caused the world to end prematurely?

…Why does this concern him so much? It has nothing to do with him. He raised his head and kept moving forward.

…Had he looked up, he would have noticed a rather sizable meteor heading towards a farther part of the city he was heading towards.

 _ **~o~**_

A few hours had passed since he first walked into the city. Looking around, it felt…eerie for there be nothing but silence. There are crows about, sure, and the wind blowing, the bubbling of magma under him…but no sounds of life. His shoes hardly made a sound as he walks through what used to be a road. He passed by several metal boxes with wheels. They look really…old. And falling apart as well.

Sora could also see black spikes with red runes on them jutting out from the ground, and large chains as well. And it occurred to him that he forgot to ask Ulthane when the End-War had begun. If it was just a year or so ago, there was no way for there to be skeletons or anything of a sort. No. It felt like that many, MANY years had passed on this world. How many years is the question, though.

No sign of demons yet, but…it doesn't mean that he's safe. He learned the hard way in lowering his guard before. He had learned since.

Speaking of… during his travels, he learned that a few of his spells had been weakened slightly. He can still do the 'Ga' tier spells, but they weren't as powerful as before. Not to mention that he can't use Magnaga, his Drive Forms or even his Summons. He'll have to make do with what he got. At least he got a consolation that he can change his Firaga Spell into a large fireball again, as well as making Thundaga into a field of lightning of a sort. He had gotten a bit of practice on the demons, so at least it's good for SOMETHING. Though he slightly lamented on not being able to use Magnaga. It was, like, one of the most useful spells. He still has Reflectaga, which is also useful.

He got himself out of his thoughts, to keep an eye out for any potential danger.

The boy soon comes across an area with several corpses. He cringed a little. It isn't getting easier to see things like that. He understands that people do die…but it didn't cease to unsettle him. People who had their hearts stolen by the Heartless had their body disappear. People do mourn, but with no body, it felt incomplete in a sense.

He had seen skeletons, but these…

The bodies have become completely grey – decayed looking. They look shriveled up, wrinkled…and their nails on their fingers and toes looked to have grown into claws. He could tell that some are men and some are women, due to the females still having hair, compared to the men, who had…their head cracked open from the crown and shirtless. They're all bare footed as well, with only skirts and pants. They have a glowing hole in their chest as well.

Sora shuddered a bit before he carefully walks over them and around them. After he had crossed them, he looked over at them again before turning around to walk off-

The boy paused. Was that…groaning? He looked around a bit for the course…before he heard movement behind him. He turned around and did a take in shock as the corpses began to rise, hissing and groaning.

Oh great. Undead. These were once people…but they had died before. He just must be careful not to get scratched or bitten by them. He had to partly blame Yuffie for making him watch those movies with her.

"Okay…" he muttered as he drew his Keyblade. "I'm fighting against zombies. Not the most unusual thing I've done in my life…"

He got on his guard- and they attacked.

They lunged at him. He moved away quickly from the first one, and slashed at the second one. At the third one, he used Reflectaga to protect himself from the hit. It bounced the attack off- then he quickly made the barrier unleash its counter attack, quickly obliterating four of them. Blood covered the barrier before it went down, bits of it on his shoes. He moved onto the others, doing a combo on one, and unleashing a fire ball onto another. He blocked an attack to his front, before he noticed one trying to attack him from behind. He quickly slid under the other as the one trying to ambush him instead attacked the one coming for him. He did a few slashes before they go down.

He took care of the rest. Slash. Fire ball. Freeze. Reflect. Slash again.

Soon, he's the only one standing. He noticed the last body fading away in fire, leaving no trace of a body behind. He looked around. It's the same for the rest as well.

"Do they just…turn into ash or something?" Sora asked himself, looking around. While he thought about it…it was the same thing for the demons as well. But they also couldn't possibly turn into ash as well, did they? This world is so strange…

Sora shook his head. "I better get going. There could be more of them out here," he muttered before he soon heads off again.

It looked to be near sunset when Sora enters a part of the city. Somehow, he had only moved a little bit closer to where that tower is. But…since he's a bit closer now, he noticed that it's floating up from the ground. He walked a bit, looking at the tower. "How did they managed to keep it floating up like that?" He asked out loud.

But since it's floating off from the ground, there isn't any likely place to get into that tower. On the plus side, he wouldn't at least try to get in there himself.

Sora stopped where he's at, and looked around a bit more. He seems to be near…something. There's a feeling in the air that's just…just…he can't even describe it. So much darkness…but…also…evil. It's not powerful, but it's there. But what exactly is that? HOW did he feel something like that?

The boy looked around cautiously before he walked off. As he got past a building he looked- and did a double take and hid. There are several more demons walking about, some patrolling or others arguing before they fought each other. He leaned back against the building. Okay…there's a lot of them, and he can't take them on by himself. He looked around a bit before he looked up. They're in a building…maybe he can use this to walk over them.

Nodding to himself, he quickly scaled the building. He got onto the roof and looked around. So far so good. He stood up and walked on the roof. He saw the part of the building just a floor beneath him. Sora jumped off, and landed on it. He stepped forward again-

"AH!" He yelped out as the roof gave under him.

He landed on the table, which shattered on impact. "Ow…" he muttered. _'I hope they didn't hear that,'_ he thought, rolling himself over. He pushed himself up and checked himself. No damages, and nothing broken. So that's good. But where is he now? He got up and looked around a bit. He seems to be in a building. There are some desks with computers (they look nothing like the ones Cid has, or even the one that helps them access the data scape in Ansem's Computer). There's also some chairs…but that's it. He walked a little bit forward. He gave a grunt, looking around. It doesn't look like any of them had heard him. He walked to the window and looked out.

He saw a platform of a sort, with chains and a spire from it. There's only one path leading to it…

And yet he saw something from the center. An aura of black and orange. What is that? He leaned onto the window, narrowing his eyes to get a better look.

A part of him wants to check it out…but another part of him is telling him to stay **away** from there.

And he's mostly inclined to listen to that feeling. He better get on out of here then.

Looking around, there are stairs…but it's practically destroyed, having a rather sizable hole below. With the potential of demons underneath the floor, he isn't willing to risk jumping down there through the hole. So…

He looked back at the window he was looking out earlier. He gave a look and went over to it. Looking over it, he saw that he can at least shove it up to allow him to get out through the window. So he did that. He slowly got out of the window and carefully climbed down. Once his feet found the ground under him, he looked around a bit.

So far so good…

He walked forward. But as he got near the opening, he stopped. Sounds of battle.

Despite his better judgement, his curiosity won over, slowly moving up to the opening. Just in case, he got out his weapon, having it ready to fight if he must. He soon got near- and a demon was running away. He blinked at that. Why is it-?

Suddenly, something impales it, with it growling in agony as it fell onto the floor. Startled, Sora pressed himself to the wall, eyeing what impaled the demon. It's a rather large broadsword…yet despite the uneven edges, and the odd design…what makes the sword menacing are the skulls etched onto it. Three faces are more prominent.

Someone soon walks into view, as the demon tries to crawl away, despite being impaled. That person is a large beast of a man, really tall and wearing mostly red and black with armor on him. He has a large gauntlet on the left hand, and boots.

Sora watched as the man takes the menacing sword in hand, effortlessly pulls it out…before he brought it down onto the demon again, decapitating it. The head rolled off before the demon's body faded away.

' _Whoa…'_ Sora thought, gulping a bit. That man is…he has no idea. And it's probably a good idea to leave before he notices him. He could either wait, and he will leave…or he could risk leaving while he's still around. And he's near, so it would be easy for the man to take him down instantly. Weighing his options…Sora decided he could try to sneak away. He looked around a bit with his eyes before he slowly took a step. Then another. He risked a third step-

He jumped when he stepped on something that made a noise.

Sora barely had time to react, backing up a little- until the edge of a sword is near his neck, keeping him pinned.

"Who are you?" A cold voice asked him. He looked up to see the man. He can see the front of the man, seeing that he has a hood over his head, silver hair coming out the hood, and two glowing eyes staring down at him.

And he's at his mercy.

* * *

 **...First impressions are usually how people view others. But...this is how the two met. However, they won't team up right away. For those of you that played Darksiders, you know how War is.**

 **There's at least a few more that I'm holding onto - I'll edit them and probably wait at LEAST a week or so until I could post the next one. Or at least a month.**

 **Leave a review please (but if you have a flame, lay it on me. They will be ignored). If you got a critique, then leave it here. I'll see what I can do to improve.**


	5. Chapter 5

I decided to try to at least update twice a month. So I'll update this Thursday (which is today), to Thursday two weeks from now (which is the 22nd). That way it would help me write in some chapters...hopefully. We'll see what happens with life. Anyways, enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Darksiders series nor the Kingdom Hearts series.**

 _I'm trying to add some realism to fights. Forgive me if they're terrible, I only have so much to work with, along with RWBY. Along with adjusting a few things, considering that Sora doesn't have a lot to work with in this world._

* * *

One hundred years. One hundred years had passed while he had been recovering, and brought before the Charred Council.

He didn't realize that until he had seen what was left of the city he had once seen back then.

During the years, Death had disappeared somewhere. Strife is…well, Creator knows where. And recently, Fury was given the duty to hunt down the Seven Deadly Sins and destroy them.

While they are gone, the Charred Council had accused him of starting the End War prematurely. He had defended himself, that the seals were broken, and that he was summoned. Yet the Charred Council had pointed out that none of the other Riders had heard the call. Why was he alone the only one who answered then? He didn't voice it, however, furious of their accusations. There are others who claimed that he was under the black banner of this… 'Destroyer', and was cast aside when he was finished with him.

Yet something didn't add up. When he got there, Heaven and Hell were already at war with each other. Before he was killed, the archangel Abaddon was there. He seems…shocked at seeing him there. He muttered something about the final seal wasn't broken. A shame that angel didn't live long enough. He would have loved to get more answers out of him. Unfortunately, he was killed. So was he moments later, much to his ire. By the same demon that had killed Abaddon.

But despite it all, they are not moved. It invoked anger within him. He wanted to know who it was that really framed him. He wanted to return and punish the ones who were truly responsible. If he failed, then the demons would have carried out their sentence. But he has no plans on dying. Not until he had gotten his revenge.

He's allowed to return, but only on the condition that he would be bound to a being called the Watcher. Its job is to ensure his loyalty. But he did not like being treated as if he was some dog by it. But, for now, he will have to endure it.

It was only when he was sent back to Earth did he see that one hundred years had passed. During the time, the Kingdom of Man has lost. No, they were utterly annihilated – they were in no means prepared. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, no matter how prepared you are, you are never truly ready for what's to come. It would always come when you least expect it.

However, he has a mission to complete. So he can't dwell on the past. He had met up with the demon merchant, Vulgrim, who told him a little on the Destroyer, including where he can be found – a black, floating tower in the distance.

After obtaining an item that can help him, War went on to locate Samael. He is imprisoned near here, and is the only one who knows a way to get into the tower.

It's the best chance he got, so he went on.

Several hours it has been since he first landed. It was near sunset when he found several demons lurking about. They seem to be looking for something. Using the distraction, he quickly cuts them down. One attempted to flee, to warn its commander. He threw Chaoseater like a javelin, quickly bringing it down. He merely walked up to it and put it out of its misery. Not often he gives mercy, but he couldn't let the element of surprise leave him.

Yes, he is War, but it doesn't mean that he would just go into a fight head on, and take down anyone. He will admit, he had once did that, eons ago. But he learned. He had lost his left arm because of it, after all. Not only because of his arrogance, but also of…something else.

It's also only logical to kill off an enemy than to let walk away. While some would be glad to have their lives, some would go and warn others, only to come back and attack in greater numbers.

After its body dissipated, he looked up. Yes…he recognized that aura anywhere. It's weak, but it certainly is Samael's. So, the demon is imprisoned after all. He wants to know why or at least what happened…however, revenge comes first. Had there been any other way, he wouldn't have to resort to asking Samael to help him. He didn't converge with demons or angels much, but he's left with little choice in the matter.

He began to move- a sound is heard behind him. He turned the sword in his hand and turned 180 degrees on his heel, the weapon held up by his right hand. It isn't meant to quickly behead someone who tried to sneak up on him (at times) but he got whoever is behind him pinned.

At Chaoseater's mercy, it's…a boy?

Hmm…yes, a child. He has brown hair, wearing mostly black and his blue eyes are wide when he stared down at Chaoseater. After his quick observation, he narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" He demanded.

The boy looked up at him. The two stared at each other, as the boy sweated. Though…now that he looked over at him better…he seems to be a human. But, that's impossible. The humans had died out during the past 100 years. Yet there is one.

Slowly…the boy raised his hand. "Uh…h-hey there," he said with an uneasy smile, waving it. "Uh…I'm…I'm Sora." He did a quick gulp, looked around and back at him. "What's yours?"

The Nephilim raised an eyebrow at him. Is that how humans greet others? Or…was he trying to signal for something? He would have noticed if something was off beforehand. But he is nervous. Then again, any person would be if they're suddenly pinned and has a possibility of dying.

War looked over at him, for any sign of concealed weaponry. While it's unlikely that he would make a move, pinned as he is, some would be desperate. Then he saw it. A key shaped sword with a yellow guard around it, with it mostly normal looking…

Ah. So that's it. He's not from this world. And from the looks of the boy, he became stranded here. There aren't any tears on his clothing (yet) but he can see patches of blood on him. Blood from others it seems like.

"Um…" The boy let out, fidgeting from the Nephilim's lack of response. Or any sort of movement.

With a grunt, he moved Chaoseater away, twirling it around in his hand and places it onto his back. He then turned and left.

"H-Hey…!" The boy let out weakly, but he didn't stop.

Out of earshot of the boy, black and turquoise mist appeared and the Watcher formed from his iron fist. "Aren't you a bit curious about what he's doing here?" It asked him with a look.

"What the boy is doing here is none of our concern," War said. "You can clearly see that he's stranded here."

The creature gave a bit of a grunt. "…True enough. He wouldn't live long enough to get off this world anyway." It then went back into his iron gauntlet.

A harsh truth, but in some cases, it's a dog eat dog world out there. That's a code among demons – if you aren't strong enough, then you are killed off. Simple as that.

The platform has chains sticking to it from rocks around it, and small spires curling inwards. Walking up, he saw a Phantom General patrolling it. The general stopped before he noticed him coming. _"You have killed many of my warriors,"_ he snarled in the demon tongue.

" _I have yet to find a warrior among you,"_ War returned in the same tongue.

The general chuckled. "Do you know what is imprisoned here?" He asked, gesturing to the platform under them. "There are things even YOU should fear, Horseman!" He pointed his axe at him. "Once you were strong. But now you are weak. And you are alone."

Weak he may be, but he will slowly regain his strength in due time.

"The Destroyer knows of your coming," the general continued. "Even now, he moves his legions against you!"

The Nephilim drew his weapon. "Then I'll make this quick," he said. Perhaps he would provide a better challenge than the grunts.

The general only roared at the challenge.

He waited for the general to attack. However, he decided to summon peons. War narrowed his eyes. So he would rather have them fight him, huh? Such cowardice.

"Bring me his head!" The general ordered, with them roaring as they charged.

The Nephilim sneered before getting into a stance. Much of his power may be gone, but he still knows how to fight.

They came at him. One tried to flank him as the others came at him. Hmm…in that case. He came at the ones coming at him, blocking one attack from one with his sword, before he grabbed the other with his large, iron fist. Hearing the other one coming at him from behind, he quickly shoved one off, before he used the other as a shield. That one took the attack for him. But he isn't done yet. Using the body, he used it as a flail to knock the other to back. The minion that was holding onto his weapon in surprise, was flung away landing a couple of feet away. War threw the one he used as a shield away before starting in on the other two.

He sliced off the legs off one, before bringing his sword down to slice it in half. The other tried to attack him while he was distracted, but he quickly parried it, before he sliced it at the chest…before doing another, severing its torso from its legs.

He turned to deal with the General- he grunted when one of the minions was thrown at him. He quickly flipped and got it off him, landing on his feet as the demon he had thrown off fell to the lava below. The Nephilim quickly blocked the axe intended for his head, the general growling.

So, he was hoping that they would tire him out and attempt take him down himself. A good effort, but not good enough.

The general tried to press its weight on him, so he used his iron fist to hold up Chaoseater. A battle of strength here. His ears picked up the sound of more of them being summoned. A pincer maneuver. He gave a bit of a smirk as he got better footing. And as soon as they got near…he quickly shoved the general off. He gathered his wrath into his right arm, as everything seems to have slowed down. Several of them had their weapons raised as they're prepared to strike down the Horseman. He could hear the general swearing under its breath at the shove.

After the energy has been gathered, he impales the ground under him. At once, several copies of Chaoseater erupted from the ground around him, piercing through the demons that are coming up behind him, as well as the Phantom General's legs. He pulled his sword out of the ground, shouldering it as the demons fell to the ground, dead.

The general growled as he stood on bloody legs. This is getting pitiful. He may as well end this quickly.

He slashed upwards on the general. The general tried to retaliate by bringing its axe down onto him- but he quickly used his sword to redirect the axe for it to strike the ground. He then cuts off its arm, blood sputtering out of the severed limb. He puts Chaoseater onto his back and picked up the axe in the same motion. He used the general's own weapon to slice off his other arm, slash at the chest…before bringing it down onto its head. Blood sputtered out of it from all the open wounds, leaving War to back off a bit as its body faded away like the others, its weapon with it.

Didn't even provide a challenge. Oh well. Now that he's taken care of, he had better figure out on how to open this. A quick observation around shows that there is at least one statue that is spewing blood that goes into the hatch in the middle. He looked around, seeing that the other statues aren't doing the same.

Hmm…

He went over to one of them, looking over at it. It seems to have been displaced.

"Just _one_ hideous, blood puking Gargoyle?" The Watcher let out when it came out. It gave a chuckle. "The plumbing must be stopped up…"

War ignored the Watcher's attempt at humor. They all had to be moved back in place, then. Simple enough. He grabs the side of it before pulling it along. It latches onto its spot. The gargoyle then has blood coming out of its mouth. It pooled up at the bottom before it began to overflow, with some of it going along the path towards the center.

Something monstrous growled in response to the second blood, along with several bangs against the hatch.

He merely ignores it, going over to the third statue and pulled it into place. The same thing occurred, only that there is laughter.

War walked up to the hatch as it opens, showing the orange and black energy coming out of it.

"War!" Samael's voice demanded, "Are you here to play executioner?" The demon came out, the same as the last time he saw him centuries ago. He landed on the platform. "They should have sent all _four_ of you."

"I have no interest in killing you, Samael," War answered.

"Ha!" Samael scoffed. War knew that Samael knows what he's truly after. "The Destroyer? He's beyond your reach. Beyond mine."

"Has prison made you a coward?" War asked in a condescending tone.

The demon roared at him. War stood his ground.

After a moment when Samael stopped, and they stared at each other through the eyes…before Samael smirked. "Perhaps there is a way…" he began. "But, you will need to get inside the Destroyer's spire. The Tower is guarded by four of his Chosen. Bring me their Hearts. And ask me no questions…" At War's narrowed eyes, Samael answered, "My reasons for helping you are my own."

War had a feeling that there's more to it…however, his best chance at getting into the Spire would require his help. And if he must get his revenge…then so be it. Doesn't mean he has to like it. "Where can I find these 'Guardians'?" He asked.

Samael gave a smirk. "Very well," he said, leaning back. "First, seek the Twilight Cathedral, where the Bat Queen Tiamat has gone to roost. The whole of her domain is a blistered inferno. By land, you will never reach it. Find the high ground to the east…" he waved his hand as black and blue energy formed, "…with this." Wings of shadow formed on War's back, before he dismissed them. "And bring me her still-beating Heart!" He soon went into his summon circle, to come out again whenever he wants now.

' _To the east, huh…?'_ The Nephilim thought. Start small, then work his way up. He'll need to rebuild the strength he lost over the years to even take on the Destroyer.

Not like anything in life is easy.

May as well get started.

As he made his way to the east path, he noticed the boy again. He had his arms crossed, looking at the pathway. The boy moved his hands a bit to the side of the wall, as if sizing up the gap. There are some enemies over there as well, a couple of Wickeds and a Fleshburster. The boy looked at the enemies, then at the entrance higher up.

He rubbed his chin…and nodded. He took a few steps backwards, prepares himself…and took off. With the momentum of the run, he ran across the wall and onto the other side. The undead barely noticed him as he kept running, until he's running along the side of another building. He jumped, landed on the spire near it and ran across it. He then jumps down, landing on top of the pathway, before he flips himself into it.

War gave a bit of a grunt, slightly impressed. The boy is resourceful, he'll give him that.

The Nephilim eyed the pathway for a moment. Then he turns around and heads to another direction. He need to at least prepare for his trip.

He must keep himself alive, after all. It isn't wise to continue unprepared.

 _ **~o~**_

"Phew! A bit hot in here," Sora let out, wiping some sweat off his brow.

…Then again, the new area he's in has a lot of lava about. So, of course it would be hot.

"Well, complaining about it won't help me much," Sora said. "Better see where this way goes." And he walks on.

There are a couple of demons here…and some areas are a bit tricky to try to get across, since a few of his 'Growth Abilities' are not working as well. He can still high jump, and dodge roll, but nothing else works. Though he had gotten a wee bit creative, making some platforms with ice.

Of course, he had to quickly cross them since the lava is quickly making the platforms break.

After traversing through the area, he soon came into a new area. It feels like it's another part of the city, where a cemetery is at. Sora walked out, looking around. "Hmm…" he looked up. The sky has a lot of clouds over. It might either rain soon or it's close to nighttime. It would be a good idea to find a place to sleep for tonight.

And boy, did he work up an appetite. It's a good thing he managed to find some apples.

He walked out, looking for a place to sleep for the night. "…Hmm…it's kind of weird that there's a forest…and yet the rest looked ruined," he mused to himself, looking around.

That is indeed strange. The area around Ulthane looked lush, and full of life…yet everywhere else, it's ruined. Did he manage to keep a part of the world alive?

He paused near a tree. The boy thought back to his encounter with that man in red.

Admittedly, he didn't know why he would greet the person who could very well kill him. Was he prolonging his possible death? But the man didn't say anything or even do anything. He just pulled his sword away and left. Sora was left surprised by that…so much that he fell to his knees, to calm his beating heart.

It took him a while…but he slowly calmed himself. He then spent a part of the time to find out on where else to go next – two other path ways are blocked…but there's one other path he could take.

He did notice the odd trinkets hanging around a building…but he didn't pay them any mind, continuing onwards. He thought he heard sounds of battle while he was looking around…but ignored it. Though he did admittedly jump at a sudden growl. It was the 'nope train' for him as he hurried himself away.

Though when he got to that next opening, he had to figure out a way to even get across the gaps. And without Aerial Dodge, he can't 'double jump' to reach up there. Or even 'slide' in the air as well.

But he DID build up some strength and skill to run along buildings and up them. Not just those, but also walls and such. If he does it right, he can practically reach the other side, while avoiding some fighting himself. The large guy on fire is new, and Sora didn't want to tackle that yet.

After sizing it up, he quickly crossed, using the buildings and the spire to get to the other side.

He did good, all things considered.

Sora then crossed his arms. "…Who was that guy though?" He asked himself. He never saw him before. He looks human…but something told Sora that he isn't human at all. But it's certainly strange to find someone else other than himself wondering out there. There's Ulthane, sure, but…he's kind of stationary now.

The boy looked around. It's almost night time, and things go 'bump' in the night.

"…I better find a safe place then," Sora muttered before he went to do so.

It took him a few minutes to find a place. There are a couple of new enemies like those giant bats – a quick Thundaga took them down before he put them down. A few more zombies are here as well, but he took care of those as well. And a few more minutes to find a good place to sleep safely. He checked every room in a building, for at least a room with no windows. But finding none, he decided to pick a room and improvised. He quickly covered the windows with some of the bigger furniture in the room, like the wardrobe and such. He shoved the couch in front of the door, and the bed away from the windows and door before looking over at his handy work.

"This should do for now," he said as he went over to the bed and sat down. He got his bag out, and got out an apple, munching on it.

Before he got into the city, he had managed to find an apple tree. He managed to grab what he could, leaving the rest in the tree for some other animals that wants to eat them.

He ate another one before he put them away somewhere. The boy sighed as he laid down onto the bed. "Even if it's old, it'll do, I guess," he mused. He stared up at the ceiling, looking at the cracks along it.

It's going to be a while until he could find a way off of this world. Until then…he hopes that Kairi can hang on for a little while longer. And not just her. Riku, the King, Donald, Goofy, and the others.

The boy closed his eyes. _'Hang in there, everyone…'_ he thought, drifting off to sleep.

…

A loud sound – like a horn – startled Sora to awakening. "AH-! What-what was that?!" He exclaimed, looking around frantically. With the room dark, Sora fumbled around for a few minutes before he found his Keyblade, making a small flame at the time to look around. There's nothing in the room…and yet Sora had heard it as if it was next to him.

He slowly stood up and looked around. Where did it come from…? He looked towards a window. Putting the small flame out, he went over to the wardrobe and shoves it to the side, peeking outside.

The moon is over the part of the city, not a full moon, but it could be a waxing half-moon. He looked around outside before at the ground below- and the same man he encountered earlier is walking by, going…somewhere.

Sora gave a look. "…What's he doing here?" He asked himself.

…Now that he thought about it, what was he doing back there earlier? Now he should have followed him to see on what he's doing at that time. So, what is he doing here himself?

The boy looked out again, before moving away from the window.

This is worth checking out.

He moved the couch away, grabbed his bag and went through the door. It could only open inwards anyway, so it would have been moot to use the couch it if opens outwards. They would have easily climbed over the couch and get to him. If it came down to it, he would have hidden in the wardrobe. He's small enough to hide in there, and so long as he didn't move anything out of place, he should be fine.

' _I guess those movies that Yuffie made me watch with her are paying off…'_ Sora thought. Even if it gave him some night terrors and nightmares at times.

He got out of the room, and hurried out of the building.

The boy looked around a bit, trying to look for the man. "…Where did he go?" He asked, looking around.

He looked around…before by the moonlight, he saw something. Something that he missed when he came to the building. "…Huh?" It seems to be…a giant stone gate. The boy walked up to it, looking up at it. "That's…a really large gate," he remarked. He looked around it. "Where does it go?"

Making a look, he climbed on it, getting to the top to look out. Yet he couldn't see what's on the other side. He gave a look before he climbed higher. On top of the trees that are mixed with those spikes, it seems to be a large pipe system…but where does it go?

"Hmm…" Sora grunted. "Why would there be a gate here?" Usually, gates are there to keep something out.

…But keeping WHO out, and WHAT its protecting is the question.

Sora looked back down before he carefully climbs down. Once he's on solid ground, he looked up at it. Pulling out his Keyblade, he pointed it at the gate.

…Yet nothing happened.

"Huh. Well that didn't work," Sora muttered, putting it away. He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at it. It must be…a different sort of gate that not even the Keyblade had worked.

The boy looked back. If that guy is around, he would come around here, right? So, it would be a good idea to try to find him.

…The problem is that he isn't sure where that guy is. So…

The boy looked around. "…Let's see if we can wait for him to come here," he said. Looking around, he found a building nearby. He climbed up the part, then the building before he smashes a window. He slips through the hole he made, before crouching down.

He waited for several minutes. He laid down… burnt a part of a stick enough to draw a few things on the walls or the floor with the charcoal… and played around with magic a bit, making a small wind on the tip, an icicle, before boredom caused him to take a bit of a nap, using his bag as a pillow…

…And he jumped again when he heard that horn again. "Got me again…!" He muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

He blinked when the ground shook a bit. Then it shook again. He looked outside of the window…and he felt his eyes going wide as something giant walks by. The boy got out and leans out, using the part of the window to hang on. It's…a giant stone golem, with a blue energy orb in the center.

"Whoa…" He let out in surprise. Is that what the gate was? A giant golem?

Sora did a take before he looked back at where it came from. The man is heading into the pathway the golem had blocked earlier.

'… _Where's he going?'_ Sora asked himself. The boy looked at his bag, at the direction the man is going, contemplating.

He can at least follow the man to see where he's going. On the other hand, he could just go on and try to find a way off the world himself. Yet…it might be possible that he could find a way if he follows the man.

He lowered his head a bit…he made up his mind.

He grabbed the bag, carefully climbed down and hurried off after the man.

* * *

 **...Welp, I can tell you that their next meeting MAY not end well. Though it seems that fate has something in store for our hapless Keyblade user. How so? Well...tune in on the 22nd and maybe you'll see.**

 **Again, life is unpredictable, so it may not happen. Just to warn you.**

 **Leave a review when you can! I mean, seriously, I'd like some reviews. It's not that hard. I like to hear some feedback.**


	6. Chapter 6

Welp, summer is here, and I could only hope I did this chapter good. The next update will be on July 6th (hopefully). Enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Darksiders series nor the Kingdom Hearts series.**

* * *

For the past few minutes, Sora had been following the man. The man had gotten a bit of a head start on him…but it's probably a good idea to put some distance between the two. What happened earlier came to mind, where he was pinned by the man's sword. So, it would be safer to follow him at a distance.

It was a bit difficult to do at first. Mostly on part that he was not only slow, but when he got to another room, the man is already gone. He had to search around before hearing the footsteps of the man, and quickly moved to catch up to him. The other times that he had to stay still and be quiet when the man stops a few times. He stood still for a few moments before walking off. Sora had to wait a few moments until he continued.

There was no way the man is easily fooled. After all, even Sora can tell that the man has a lot of experience with the sword. So, he had to be exceptionally careful around that man. That would mean walking carefully.

After a while, the man had come into a new area. An uphill path it looks like.

Sora had to wait until he's gone for him to go up himself. What he sees seems to be a wee bit…bleak. Parts of the road had collapsed, and the ground had been separated from the rest, or just collapsed in on itself. Looking up, Sora can see that there is a high road above him, with pillars and chains holding them up. And some even broken as well, on other parts of the buildings further away.

"…This place is a wreck…" Sora muttered. "Don't they care about this world at all?"

Makes him think on what other worlds they might wreck. The boy sighs, before shaking his head. He shouldn't think much about it.

"Okay…where did that guy go…?" Sora asked himself, looking around. He shouldn't have gotten far, right? So where would he be?

The boy looked around, trying to find the man before walking around. The man wears red, and he's huge. There's no way he could have lost him so fast. As the boy walked under the highway, he looked up- and saw the man jumping out of the building above him. What was he-?

Then shadow-y…wings? Yeah, they're wings. They came from his back.

Sora's eyes went wide as he floated…and something seems to have given him a boost to go up higher, before landing on the road over him.

"Wha…when did he…?" Sora sputtered out, baffled.

How the heck is he gonna catch up to him now? Uh- there should be something he could climb, right? The boy looked around a bit, before looking up at a pillar. It leads to the high road above him. Giving a look he went over to it. _'Let's hope this is climbable,'_ he thought before he began to climb up.

But he only got to half-way when he heard something. A…roar? He looked around for the source. Where did it come from?

…When he looked down, he saw something HUGE coming in. It's big, orange, has horns and spikes coming from it. It also has claws attached to its hands, chains around parts of the body, and thick claws on its feet.

It looked up and noticed him.

"…Uh oh," Sora meeped out. It roared again as Sora frantically climbs up. He nearly got to the top before the pillar he was on collapsed suddenly without something to support it to the ground. Yelping, he quickly kicked off and grabbed onto the top part. He looked down, seeing it stare up at him with an angry look. Sora stuck his tongue out at it before he climbs up. But as he got to the top, he blinked. He looked down to see that it's climbing onto the building…and then jumped onto the road with him.

The boy stared at that. "…I should have seen that one coming…" Sora mumbled out as it looked smug.

It roared as Sora quickly rolled away from where it would sink it's 'claws' to where he was, with Sora pulling out his weapon. It gave a look before it pulled his claws out effortlessly, glaring down at him.

' _Okay…this thing is smarter than it looks…just gotta be careful,'_ Sora thought.

As if to prove his point, it looked at one of the metal boxes with wheels before running his claws through one. It lifted it up, with Sora staring up, eyes wide.

"…Uh oh," Sora repeated.

 _ **~o~**_

A high-pitched squeal made War blinked.

What in the name of the Creator is that?

He looked back, seeing a Trauma smashing one of the metal boxes – a 'car' he recalled a human call them back then – to something, and smashing others away.

He gave a look, before shaking his head. It has nothing to do with him. If a Trauma wanted to destroy cars as a hobby, then let it be.

The Nephilim turned back to continue onwards…however, his ears perked up the sound of screaming coming towards him. He turned around to see a car flying towards him. He braced himself and caught it. He skidded back a few paces, his foot near the edge. He looked back slightly, with the edge behind him. If he had reacted too late, he would have fallen off with the car.

The man looked back to see the Trauma coming in.

He gave a look. It's just now spotted him? How troublesome. He got a grip on the car-

"Um…" The man blinked. He looked at the interior, seeing the boy in there. "…Don't…throw this thing please," he said.

Oh. So that's what happened. And this boy actually followed him?

Granted, he had a feeling he was being followed. A few times, actually. But he didn't confront it – if the being has an intention of attacking him, they would have done so. And a spy wouldn't exactly leave themselves be easy to find, or make a lot of sounds, no matter how silent they try to be.

Though, that would explain what the Trauma was doing. It was after the boy that's currently in the car. He must have gone into one to escape it…which the Trauma then picked up…and threw it, all the way over here.

War looked up again. It's coming closer. He gave a look and looks at the boy. "If you value your life, then get out of the car."

The boy blinked. "Uh…you mean this thing that I'm in?"

"Yes."

The boy looked at the Trauma coming closer. "Uh- sure! Okay!" He nodded before he quickly scrambled out of there through the window. After he's on the ground, War readies the car…

And hurls it to the Trauma, hitting it on the head. It stuns the demon, but not a lot.

"Whoa!" The boy let out, surprised. "You're pretty strong."

"Don't get too excited," he chided the boy, as the Trauma shook its head, glaring at them.

"Well that's just great," the boy muttered as it jumped over to them.

War wordlessly drew Chaoseater. _'Of course, things are never easy,'_ he thought. Nothing ever is.

In his peripheral vision, he noticed the boy readying his weapon, looking over at it. He knows how to deal with a Trauma. He preps himself to fight- but the boy then rushes at it.

What does that boy think he's doing?

He narrowed his eyes as the boy came up to the Trauma, and dodged a few of its swipes at him. He got into its unprotected side, and with a yell attacked it…

…Yet it didn't do a thing. The Trauma stared down at him, lifting its arms with the boy looking up at it. "I…uh…I…honestly expected more," he said, sounding sheepish.

He had to put down Chaoseater to pinch the bridge of his nose with his right hand, sighing to himself.

War looked back up to see the Trauma roaring again before it made an upper cut at him. It would have skewered the boy right then and there if the boy hadn't put up a barrier around him on time- only to be sent flying with the boy screaming. War sighed, pulling Chaoseater out of the ground.

He stared up at the Trauma as it came to him, coming for him now. The Nephilim tensed, waiting for the perfect moment…before it tried to stab him with both claws. The man quickly dodged to his right- and quickly cut off both hands. With no weapons on it, he sheathed Chaoseater and rushed up to it. He grunted as he used his iron fist to do an uppercut at it, stunning it with the hit. He then landed on its back, grabbed its head with both hands and with his strength…snapped its neck.

The Trauma gave a dying cry as it fell to the ground, the man landing on the ground neatly with it disintegrating behind him. Upon standing up, he noticed the boy is on the building beside the part of the road he's on. Noticing a Shadow Current beside it, he went up to it and used it to get to the roof of the building.

The boy groaned a bit as he held his head, and shook it a bit. He looked up to see something, looking surprised. "Whoa…" he heard the boy mutter as he got near. "Hey, did you…" he trailed off as War walked past him. "uh…h-hey!"

The boy had to jog a bit to catch up to him. "Hey, can you just-?"

War stopped. "Why are you here?"

"…Huh?" The boy asked, taken aback by the question.

"Why did you follow me, all the way out here?" War asked instead.

"Uh…well…I was just…curious. On where you're going."

War shifted his eyes to the side. "So, it was mere curiosity?"

"…Yeah?"

The Nephilim scoffed a bit. "Then you are a fool," he said. "Curiosity is what would get people killed. Just as you had nearly did back there."

"I-I had it under control," the boy defended.

"No. What you did was reckless," War chided him. "That sort of recklessness is how the young always die quickly without guidance. Especially in battle against demons and angels." Like he himself had saw, back then himself. How the Nephilim children – himself among them when he was young – were cocky and reckless. And it leads to their deaths. He alone survived, which is how he was found later by the elder Nephilim.

"…But-" The boy began, but War shook his head.

"I am not sure on what you had faced…but the demons that are on this world are not to be taken lightly."

"But I had been fighting dangerous stuff everyday- Heartless that can steal my heart, Nobodies who can possibly take me out! Heck, I even fallen asleep for almost 11 months and I don't even know why!" The boy exclaimed. "This is just…a little different from what I'm used to. And I've been doing all of this to help my friends!"

A bleeding heart. Most don't even last long.

But Heartless and Nobodies…first he heard of those. He put it at the back of his mind for now.

"And what of the Trauma that merely batted you away like nothing?" He questioned. When the boy didn't answer, he continued, "True, you erected a barrier that saved you, albeit at the last minute. However, had you done it any later, or if it was any smaller, it would have skewered you, ending you in a blink of an eye. No matter how strong it is."

The Watcher soon appears, giving a mocking 'HA!'. "A bleeding heart can only bleed for so much before running dry – and that Trauma would easily have made a bigger hole out of you," it added. "You're not even worth our time, brat."

"Hey, I didn't ask you!" the boy said to it.

War glanced back a bit. Hardly fazed. He looked forward. "If you value your life, you best go on," he warned. "Follow me any further, I won't be responsible for what happens to you." He then walks forward, towards the other building.

The Watcher floated next to him, after he used another Shadow Current. "Well…that was rather harsh," it remarked.

"I merely state the truth," War said. "He would be better off to not pursue me further."

The Watcher scoffed. "If you insist," it said before going back into his gauntlet. The ash crunched under his feet as he walks further into the building.

 _ **~o~**_

Sora had his head down the entire time after his chat with the man. He had his hand raised earlier, to try to say something in response…but lowered it, his hands to his sides now.

"…I…I just…" he muttered to open air.

What he said…stung. He wasn't…trying to be reckless. But…

He sighed. He went to a large board and said under it, on top of the white…dust? At this point, he doesn't care.

Sora can't help but feel that the man is right though. What was he thinking back there? Why would he just…do that? He just…he just wanted to show that he can take it. But that attack at that demon – a…Trauma, was it? Yeah, that's what he called it – did…nothing. He got the dodging down, after seeing on how it moves. But he's not strong enough. Yet the man took it down easily.

But, of course he did. The man is much more experienced than he is. He probably fought loads of those things, and more. His first time and…he was mostly panicking, and running for his life. He was just lucky that he managed to survive, going into the box thing (car?) before it pierces it and threw it at the man.

The talk – or rather argument – the two had earlier is still fresh in his mind. While the Reflectaga had been last minute…he was right about one thing. The tip of the claw pierced through it. If it had been any smaller, it could have killed him. These demons are…something else. Something else entirely.

He thought about that thing that came out of his giant metal hand. It's…weird looking. Not to mention that it annoyed him when it mocked him. While it was true that his 'bleeding heart' had gotten him into trouble at times, he just…he just couldn't stand by and let someone get hurt.

Yet…he couldn't help but think that it may have been a mistake to follow him now. What a waste of time.

Sora sighed before standing up. He wipes the dust off of him, picking up his Keyblade. "I guess I better get out of here and find shelter for tonight." He sheathes the Keyblade. "It's…not like I could do much here."

He turned back…but blinked at something. People with blue wings and gold armor flew over him. They carry javelins, but they didn't notice him at all. He watched them go…before he shook his head. He shouldn't bother with them.

The boy walked forward…until he heard something else. He didn't look up…but the sounds got closer. "Huh?" he let out, looking up- and several giant bats came at him!

"Oh, come on!" He complained. "There's more of you?!"

They fluttered around him, and he used his Keyblade to try to swat them away, or at least make them go away.

"Get back! Back!" He let out- before one of them suddenly grabbed his weapon. "Wha- Hey!" He yelped out as he held on- and he was being carried away.

He let out several more yelps as he was taken away by the giant bats, a couple more holding him up to help support the lead one. He couldn't see behind him, as they're taking him away from the place, beyond the building and the area and took him under.

"H-Hey! Where are you taking me!?" Sora yelped out at them. He knew they wouldn't answer but…he had to ask. They seem to be taking him through an underground waterfall. "H-hey, wait-!"

Too late. They went through it, and the boy is soaked. He gave an annoyed look as his clothes are dripping wet. Some of his bangs are nearly in his eyes. His annoyance went away, however, when he saw more ruins of the city ahead.

"Geez! How big is this place?" Sora asked out loud in surprise.

But there's no way that he's going to be some…demon food! Are they taking him where they'll eat him later? Or to a larger demon? He'd rather not find out, thank you!

…Yet looking to the ground, he saw that it's rather far off. Like…about several feet. The size of a five-story building. Would he even make some wind based magic enough to slow his decent? Or he wouldn't and he would be a messy splat on the ground?

As much as Sora didn't want to be demon food, he can't…exactly get down. Reluctantly, he let himself be taken away. He took advantage of this by watching the landscape go. He saw the black tower in the distance, with the top floating off from the tower.

But for bats, they can fly pretty fast, going through different parts of the city. He thought it was strange at first…but when he heard gun fire, he had a feeling that they wanted to avoid as little conflict as possible. During the breaks between flying through the city, and the ruins, he thought he saw a giant…bird? It looks like a bird, with a beak, and large wings but it has legs instead of talons. And there's even armor on it. The same gold armor those…angels? Yeah, those guys have wings – have.

They're trying to stay out of sight of the beast it looks like. The boy also caught glimpses of several other things. The angels are attacking it. Demons are attacking it. He even saw a giant stone golem going by, attacking the demons and angels. He was unable to get a look at the person riding on the feathered beast, because the bats mostly obscured his vision.

But as they're exiting the city…disaster struck.

Something shot at the bat that was holding up his leg, killing it and a few others around it. Then it took down the one holding his torso up. The others try to take over for them, but something hits them to make them go down.

Sora is, literally, left dangling in the air with the last bat trying to keep him afloat. "Come on!" He yelped out. "Flap! Flap for your life!"

But they're slowly descending. Is he heavier than he looks? But he's not fat! But it may have been his clothes, still wet from going through the waterfall earlier. Sora chanced a look to the ground well below him, before looking back up- and he saw the bat contemplating something. And considering their predicament…it was to either have them both die…or save itself.

Sora narrowed his eyes. "Don't! Don't you freakin' dare-!"

Too late. It let go of his Keyblade.

"You jerk!" He shouted at the bat as it flew off.

But now he's falling. Falling and he can't even focus enough to even use magic, with him flipping about in the air. Panic filled him. If he doesn't do something soon, he'll die! Yet him panicking, flailing in the air and screaming isn't doing much.

But then he landed on something.

Sora had his eyes clenched the entire time…but he heard flapping.

Slowly, he opened his eyes…and saw that he's still in the air.

He gave out a breathy sigh. "Oh man…! I'm still alive…!"

Then, he registered a few things.

One, he's on the giant, flying beast. Two…

He looked up. The man from earlier is riding on it, frowning down at him.

"…This cannot be a coincidence."

Sora stared at the man who had his eyes narrowed.

"Uh…well, not really," Sora replied, shrugging hopelessly. "This is just unlucky on my end."

 _ **~o~**_

War's expression didn't change, making a deadpanned look. "Luck has nothing to do with it."

"Well, what are you asking me for?" Sora retorted as he sat up properly. "It's not like I was actually following you this time."

"Then how did you even get here?"

"I was carried away by those huge bats! I was left dangling on one a bit earlier before it decided to drop me!"

…Hm. That MAY have been his fault. He noticed a pack of Dusk Wings flying over-head, deciding to shoot them down. Didn't expect the boy to be caught by them, though. And the two just entered the opening on the other side of the ruins he had flown through, so there's no turning back now.

Sora looked behind them, before forward. "So…" He looked over at the beast. "Where are we going?"

"To my destination," War answered.

"Where's that?"

War didn't answer.

"…Well aren't you talkative," Sora muttered. But he's stuck with him for now, so he may as well put up with it. So, Sora kept himself mostly silent through their trip to…someplace.

It went from cool…to hot when they came to the next area. There are many things, from a giant flying demon, to bats on fire and small insect things flying around. Sora…may have developed a hatred of bats, as he used Blizzaga to shoot some down, while everything else was shot down by the gun lance that War had…procured from an angel before kicking off the previous rider of the angelic beast.

They had a bit of a scuffle with, to Sora a giant flying demon – to War, a Fallen. It took a bit of work, but Sora decided to at least be useful, using a few Firagas to damage it. The two gave a look, with Sora looking at his Keyblade. What if…?

Sora then used Thundaga on it, shocking it…and it fell to the lava below, where it bellowed as it was burned alive. Sora looked down at it before back up. "That's…one way to die," he remarked after a while of silence.

"…We can continue forward, however," War pointed out.

Sora just nodded as they continued to fly.

Once there was a lull, Sora chanced to talk. "So…what was going on back there? Who were those guys? The, uh, Angels?"

War gave a look at him. There aren't any other enemies around, so…

"Those were the Hellguard. You can say that they are… the main enforcers of the White City in Heaven," he answered.

"What are they doing here?" Sora asked.

…That's a good question. War may have an idea, but he has no idea how long they've been here. They could have gone back to the White City during the century, though…it's odd. Were they hunting for him back there?

"…Who can say?" War answered finally.

"Huh. Well…I guess they would be mad that you took this," Sora remarked, looking at the angelic beast that they're on.

They entered another area, that's slightly cool…and Sora admittedly got a little dizzy from the sudden change of temperatures. But they continued to fly regardless. Though, considering the distance they made…there's probably not a lot of places they could land where he could get off.

They flew to another area, and Sora was about to speak up again – because he can't stand the silence mostly – but then…

They went through an opening. Sora's mouth slowly closed, his eyes slowly going wide.

It's a building on top of a spit of land over lava, fiery rocks, the works. To add the ominous effect, lightning cracked overhead.

Sora stared. "…Uh…where are we?" He asked.

"My destination," War answered.

"Here?"

They had gotten near it- until, suddenly, something larger attacked. Sora yelped out as the two winged creatures fought in the air with the two hanging on. War holding onto a part of the armor, and the boy holding onto his back…and as they turned, the larger creature's tail knocked the two off the feathery beast's back.

Sora yelped again as they flew up in the air…and they began to fall. The ground isn't far this time…but Sora didn't want to get hurt!

He used wind to slow his decent…but he still landed hard on the ground. The boy thought he heard a 'crunch' when it happened, bouncing on the ground and flat on the ground.

War, having been around Sora when he used the wind, used his Shadow Flight to land beside him.

Groaning, Sora pushed himself up slowly. His left arm hurts, but he ignored it as he looks up, sighing. "Not…one of my best landings," he grunted, one of his eyes closed before he looked up. The angelic beast is fighting with a giant…bat creature. They're going off towards the building…leaving the two behind. "…Well, there goes our ride."

The boy glanced to War, who was looking up at the building. Sora looked up as well.

"So…what is this place?"

"The Twilight Cathedral," War answered.

So, this building is a cathedral? Sora asked himself. Huh. This is the first time he's ever seen one.

"…Well, at least it couldn't get any worse than this," Sora said.

But…right as he said that, he felt a drop…and suddenly there's a down pour.

Sora gave a bored look. "Me and my big mouth…" he grumbled.

The Watcher appeared, looking annoyed. "Well, may as well go in," it said. "Not like we have anything better to do."

"Shut up," Sora said annoyed as he walks to the building. His left arm still hurts though…he may need to check up on it.

The Watcher groaned a bit. "Humans…" it muttered before going into the gauntlet.

War silently looked at his iron fist, then back up at the boy heading to the cathedral. He's stiff, and his left arm seems to be limp. Hmm. He may have either dislocated his shoulder, or he had broken it. There isn't any blood, so it isn't the latter. Regardless…

War looked up at the cathedral. He made it. That's what matters. It's a matter of getting to the Chosen, though.

The Horseman lowered his head and walks to the cathedral behind the boy.

* * *

 **Yup. War is cold, isn't he? But, he wouldn't be himself if he wasn't, well...you know. But dude's got EONs of experience. And even with him not at full power, he's still strong enough to be a badass (albeit a BRUTAL badass).**

 **Also, Sora just dislocated his arm. If I made a mistake on how that actually works, inform me. Again, I'm putting in some realism.**

 **Leave a review if and when you can. Reviews can make a person happy, you know.**


	7. Chapter 7

I had a bit of help with the first few bits of this chapter. I will warn you now, **the Twilight Cathedral dungeon WILL be different from the game.** Not only to avoid this being a rehash, but...also, having a bit of help can not only make it go a bit faster, but it will end up getting harder. If you don't like it...then why are you reading it? If you like it so far, then here. Enjoy the chapter.

 **I don't own the Darksiders series nor the Kingdom Hearts series. Slight modifications to either history is free reign at this point.**

* * *

The cathedral had been silent for a long time. Hardly anyone had disturbed the place, even after the apocalypse. Some of the candles are still lit, but most had burned out, or completely melted the wax a long time ago. There's dust and cobwebs in the place, from no longer being maintain for over 100 years.

The doors to the cathedral opened, with Sora peeking his head in. He opened it fully to walk in. "Uh…hello?" He called out, his voice echoing.

Yet there is no response. Sora gave a sad look. Here too.

The boy looked over at his arm. He sets down his weapon, and the pack over one of the candle stands. He took off his jacket. While he's relieved that he didn't find any blood, or a piece of bone sticking out… but he grimaced at not only the bruise that formed, but also at how his shoulder looked. He must have dislocated it. The boy looked around, before settling on the wall. The boy pursed his lips flat, and went over to it.

War had entered to see the boy raise his elbow to the wall…and rams it.

A 'crunch' is heard, and Sora groaned. He backed away, swaying a bit as he held his arm. He looked at his left arm, flexing it and his hand. Okay, he got it. He gave a sigh. Let's hope he wouldn't have to do that again.

War didn't say anything, just pushed the door a bit behind him to let it close.

Sora blinked at the Nephilim who merely shook his iron gauntlet to get the water off. "The rest of the building will most likely not have cover from the rain. So it would be pointless to dry our clothes right now," he said, looking over at his iron hand a bit before lowering it.

Sora looked at the jacket he was just about to wring out. "…Oh." He puts it back on. "Well, there goes that plan…"

As he got it on, he looked around. "…So, what are you looking for here?"

"It's not your business," War said, walking by him.

"Uh…I…kind of know that," Sora said lamely.

The Watcher appeared again. "Don't you have any place else to go to, little boy?"

Sora gave a look. War looked back a little to watch the exchange. "…Technically, I'm kind of stuck here with you," the boy pointed out. "I don't see a way off here, or at least…out of here."

The Watcher…actually faltered a bit. War gave a little bit of a smirk at that. It gave an annoyed grunt at the boy.

Sora let his eyes wonder a bit, as the rain over them hits the roof. Technically, he IS stuck here with them. And whatever they're doing, yeah, it's none of his business…but on the other hand, he could probably find at least a clue to leave here, this world. But…convincing these guys is a different story.

May as well try.

"Uh…" Sora began before he noticed the Horseman about to leave. "H-Hey, wait!" He called out.

"For the love of- what is it, human?" the Watcher asked with an annoyed look.

"Uh…would you, like…need some help?" Sora asked.

War had to turn as the Watcher gave an incredulous look. "And what 'help' can you exactly provide?"

"Well…" Sora tried to think. "What about the Keyblade?" He held it up. "I mean, it can unlock anything?"

"Demons and angels would no double have magic that can stop your weapon's power," War pointed out. "They would be wise to find a way to block your weapon's power."

"Oh, right," Sora let out, lowering it. He thinks. "Okay, uh, but…what about having someone look around as a second pair of eyes?"

"That's what I'M here for, you wretch," the Watcher said. "And what is the point of your little weapon if it's just an over-glorified bludgeoning weapon that can unlock ordinary locks?"

"Oh really? I like to see you fight back any monsters yourself," Sora retorted.

"My duty was to ensure his loyalty," the Watcher said, "it doesn't mean that I have to fight."

"Well, don't you have anything to defend yourself, other than that guy?" Sora asked, gesturing at War.

"I don't NEED anything. And if the lapdog dies, I'm just the messenger to the council," the Watcher answered. "It'll be on his head that he dies a foolish death."

Sora gave a look, when that…thing called the man a 'lapdog'. "Well what did he do that he needed to be watched?"

"He single-handedly started the apocalypse too soon."

He did? But…no. Something isn't right. Sora crossed his arms. "Yeah right – I'm sure it's just some lie that they fed to others. I mean, sure he's strong and well…brutal, but even he wouldn't break a code on purpose." He just…didn't look like the time to do something like that. "Somebody else must have set him up to take the blame."

War raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Admittedly, the boy pose a point…

The Watcher got up Sora's face. "And what proof do you have, boy?" The Watcher spat. "You don't even have a reason to be here. You're just an outsider to this ordeal. And not only that, you're frail."

Sora narrowed his eyes at it. "So what does it matter? Sure, I've only been fighting for a year or so – I'm not instant expert. I can admit that. But even I wouldn't let myself get defeated when my life was on the line. But I also knew that if I didn't do anything to change something bad, then the situation would get worse enough. Xehanort's Heartless got Kingdom Hearts and the seven Princesses of Heart back then!"

"Now you're just spitting nonsense," the Watcher said, eyes narrowing.

"Am I?" Sora questioned, eyes narrowed further.

"Yes," the Watcher deadpanned.

"Well, what would you know? You don't know me or what other humans are like." He paused to look over at the Watcher. "And technically, I don't know you as well. What are you supposed to be anyway?"

"Don't change the subject!"

"Then answer my question!"

War just stood there as the two argued with each other. The Nephilim looked mostly bored by them bickering.

The Watcher growled. "I am an assigned being designated to watch over this criminal as he completes his mission. If he does so, he's pardoned for his crime for destroying humanity on this earth 100 years ago."

Sora paused a bit. 100 years…that actually made sense, considering the state of the place he's seen it as. Still…it feels a bit unfair to accuse him of something like that. But…as he's beginning to realize…there's always a different side to the story.

Sora looks at the man. "Well, what was the state of the world when you arrived around then?" He wanted to at least here HIS side of the story.

…The man noticed he's not even bothering to ask about what he is, nor the time.

Hmm.

"When I first arrived, heaven and hell were already at war," War answered. "That was at least one hundred years ago."

"Hmm…" Sora crossed his arms, his fingers lightly drumming his right arm. "…Okay, I don't know much about it, but…that sounds a bit suspicious. If he's the one who caused it…that would have meant he arrived BEFORE things went crazy." There's something wrong with this. He can't figure out 'what' it is, though.

"Well, everyone else saw him there," the Watcher pointed out. "There were hundreds of witnesses."

Sora gave a look. This…thing reminded him of that vain Queen of Hearts from Wonderland. He didn't like that woman. At all. If only because she has that 'better than thou' vibe about her. Not to mention that she also accused Alice of 'stealing' her heart, when it was the Heartless. He doesn't like people who are like that.

Sora got back to the matter at hand. "Well, are those 'witnesses' even faithful or something? I don't know much about the court system and all, but that's just…well…strange. You'd think that someone had framed him."

"Well, what proof is there?" the Watcher questioned.

"Well, SOMEONE may have answers," Sora said. "I don't know who, but they could know."

War thought back to the archangel Abaddon, who fell one hundred years ago. "…That would be impossible," he said. "The one who may have known died back then."

Sora blinked. "…Oh…" He puts his hands on his hips. "Well, shoot."

"Well judgement has already been brought – and now he must pay the price," the Watcher said.

"Well would someone be able to prove his innocence?" Sora questioned. "Even if he was the one who did it, as others say, there has to be someone who believed he didn't do anything wrong! Who still believe that he's innocent!"

"Well, good luck looking for them!" The Watcher said, hands up in a shrug.

Sora groaned before War gave a stern look before he turned a bit. "You two can bicker like vultures to their prey. I have bigger concerns to be worried about."

"W-Wait! Can't I at least help you?" Sora asked- before War pointed his sword at him.

"Give me one solid reason you have for accompanying me, mortal."

Sora gave a bit of a thought…but then he had a stroke of genius. "Well…even someone like you can't get around so easily, right? What if I scouted out ahead and tell you want's coming, or see what I can find higher up if I can?" Sora asked. "Besides, that huge bat thing we saw could still be around and so could those smaller ones."

At that moment, the place rumbled a bit.

"That 'huge bat thing' is actually my target," War said.

"It is?" Sora blinked.

"She," War corrected. "She is Tiamat the Bat Queen."

Sora paused at that. "…That thing's a she?" He asked, incredulous. It- She's…kind of ugly, truth be told.

But…the Watcher and Nephilim considered it, the latter lowering his sword a little. "Hmm…when aptly put, that little human could be useful – especially his size could help him hide from demons…as long as he doesn't get caught," the Watcher let out, thinking.

War gave a look. Not to mention that he's rather well apt in magic, apparent in their 'trip' to here. A couple of them could use some work, however, so it's not ideal to rely on them too much.

The man grunted before he puts Chaoseater away, and turned to leave. Sora gave a concerned look, before the man looked back. "You're responsible for your own actions. Do anything I detest, and I'll leave you to your death," War said.

Sora looked surprised. That…must be a 'yes' then. He gave a bit of a smile and nodded. "Okay," he said, nodding as he let the smile fall. "Uh…we…kind of also started off on the wrong foot. So…maybe we can get our names out?"

War gave a bit of a look to him.

"I'm Sora," the boy introduced himself. "What's your name?"

War stared at him for a while.

"It's War."

"War, huh?" Sora repeated to himself, before nodding. "Okay then. So, what about that shadow thing?"

"He is merely the 'Watcher', and he'll be known as such," War answered.

"Hmm…I guess that makes sense," Sora mused, scratching his head. "Well…here's to our, uh…temporary partnership, I guess?" He shrugged.

War tilted his head. "…What is the other reason you want to join up?"

"Well…" Sora started off, rubbing the back of his head, "mostly to see if I can find clues on how to get off the world. If I don't find anything here…I'll just move on, I guess."

"Even if the way forward isn't clear-cut?"

"I'll just find a way around then."

Hmm. Such a simple answer.

"Hmph." War looked forward. "Then let's go."

"Right," Sora nodded as he walked up to War.

…The Watcher narrowed its eyes to the boy. _'…That boy feels like trouble. Best to keep an eye on him,'_ it thought, before it went into War's gauntlet.

Sora glanced back to his bag before nodding to himself. It'll still be there when he comes back for it.

The two then went on their way.

 _ **~o~**_

Even after he had agreed to let the boy come with him, War still isn't sure if he should really let him. Humans are…fragile. When he walked the Earth 100 years ago, he saw just how easily they fell to the demons rampaging. Or they had accidentally got caught up in the crossfire between the angels and demons.

Though the boy is young and smaller than him (he will admit that there are some places that he might not be able to get to, because of his size), there is a possibility that he would end up dying quickly. Some humans are, in a sense, adaptive, but they aren't made like the rest of creation.

As far as he knows anyway. The humans of this world. Others could be different, or the same.

As they reached the doors at the end of the hall, the boy paused. "Wait…" he muttered. He looked at him. "You said…a hundred years ago, right? You were there when that…happened?"

"Yes," War answered simply. What reason would he have on lying?

The boy had a blank look. "But…if…you were there…and yet you're here…" He looks at him. "Uh…just…how old are you?"

The Nephilim raised his eyebrow at him. "What would you gain from that?"

"I'm just curious," Sora shrugged. "I mean…you look human but…you're probably not, are you? Otherwise, how can you do all of that and stuff?"

Well, at least he's a bit observant. "I've been alive for eons," War said as he raised his right hand to open the door.

"Eons?" The boy repeated in surprise. "That's… Holy… that must have meant that you're, like…super old. Ancient even."

"There are others that are older than I am," the Nephilim explained. "Some much older than I."

He snuck a glance at the boy. He's trying to process what he just heard. Then, he responded with:

"Wow. Just…wow."

The man rolled his eyes a bit before he opened the door.

That's when the Angelic Beast and Tiamat burst into the room. He merely watched as the two of them fought each other. The Angelic Mount may have been smaller, but Tiamat is stronger. The beast quickly fled through the ceiling, with Tiamat after it. The building rumbles with their fight. It may not be long until the Angelic Mount is bested in their fight.

"That's Tiamat?" The boy asked out loud. "…She's really ugly now I got a look at her."

"Not everything is pretty, boy," War told him.

"I know." The boy walked out.

The two got to the other side of the lava, crossing over with a bit of land. The boy looked around a little. "Okay…where to go now…?" He muttered.

War looked over at the cracked floor at a bit of a distance. He looked up at a Goremaw holding up a piece of a statue. Something told him that they needed to get it to drop the statue to destroy the massively cracked floor under it. The Nephilim looked around…before he spotted a particular thing above them. Hmm…

"Boy." When he didn't respond, War looked at him. "Sora."

"Huh?" The boy blinked.

"Look," War pointed at the thing. "If I toss you up there, see what it is."

The boy looked up at it. "Oh. Uh…sure? But…by 'toss' you mean…?"

War grabbed him by the back of his jacket….and threw him upwards towards the second floor.

"Whoa!" The boy yelped out as he was thrown…but he managed to land up there safely. He looks down at him. "Give me a bit of warning next time!"

"Sure," War deadpanned. "Now go and look."

"Fine, fine," the boy huffed a bit before he went over to it.

He looked over at it with a look, before picking it up. "Huh…what is it…?" He mumbled.

…It then looks like it's on fire. The boy yelped, passing it from his hands frantically. And the fire built up. The boy threw it at the Goremaw, the only thing he could toss it to, and it stuck onto it.

"What the heck is that? You'd think it's-" The boy began- until it exploded. On reflex, the Goremaw released the stature to curl in on itself in defense…but that seems to have done the trick as the stature fell – and destroyed the floor under it. The boy looked down, as did he. "…Oh. It really is a bomb."

War nodded. "Good work," he said.

"Oh. Well…hold on," the boy let out. "Catch this please." War looked up to catch the weapon the boy tossed down. He watched as he made a running start and wall runs to the statue. The boy gripped the statue and slowly climbs down. He then jogs over to him, who wordlessly hands the weapon back to him, holding the shaft. "Thanks."

After the boy takes it back, War peers down. The statue's head is at the bottom some feet below. It could provide a good leverage to climb up the wall to get out of there easily.

The boy stood next to him, peering down at as well. "So…we got down?" He asked.

"We may have to," War answered before he jumped. He used his iron fist to slow his decent a little, before he fell the rest of the way, landing on the statue's head. He jumped off it, rolling on the ground and got up to his feet.

He felt a breeze behind him, but someone landing on the statue behind him told him that it's the boy. There is a slide, and the boy landed on the ground, walking up to his side. The boy used the wind to slow his decent a little, before sliding down the statue.

"Okay, let's get going," the boy nodded.

The two walked down the hall. The boy looked around a little.

"They even made an underground area? How big is this place?" he asked.

War merely grunted as they continued through it.

Sure enough, they soon entered a new room. Or rather, as they walked, the area began to open up as they head further in. The stone hallway is replaced by ash and dust. They entered a new room, where there are several statues…and lava.

The Nephilim looked around a bit, for any sign of a trap of a sort.

Even if he didn't find any, he narrowed his eyes. "Be on your guard," he said to the boy, who had wisely stayed. "Though it doesn't have enemies…there is always a potential."

The boy gave a hum at that. "…Good point," he muttered.

He may have said that he isn't responsible for the boy…however, it doesn't mean he can't occasionally give him some wisdom. At least he's willing to learn – not only from him, but also his own mistakes as well.

War jumped down first. A quick look still shows nothing. Slowly, he stood up and gestured for the boy to follow. Once he's on the ground as well, the two walked into the chamber, looking around.

"What do you think could be here?" The boy asked.

War didn't answer, still looking around. Still no sign. But he doesn't like this…

The man gave a look. "What's that?" The boy asked. He looked back to see the boy looking at something. There are several statues…yet one of them is holding onto something to their chest. It's an item with a four, curved blades attached to a ring, with a hilt in the middle. The boy went over to it, climbing up the statue. Looking over at it, he grabs it by the hilt and tugs. When it didn't come lose the first time, he pulled on it a few times. Then he really tried, putting his feet onto it as he pulled with all of his might.

War rolled his eyes a bit before he went over to the statue himself. When he did, the boy then got it out, the statue's arms breaking off.

"Got it!" He called out- before gravity kicked in. "Whoa!"

He tumbled down the statue before he landed rather ungracefully on his back. The item clattered on the ground next to him. The youth groaned as he slowly sat up. War took the time to pick up the item the boy procured, looking over at it.

A finely crafted item. He believed he's seen these before – throwing blades that was made and imbued with magic by the Makers way back when. To think that there's one here within the cathedral…

The man got a good grip of it before throwing it. It arced around the room before coming back to him, which he quickly caught. There was even a trail of blue energy behind it as it flew. So, it's the real thing. War looked over at it. This might be useful.

"Hey, that kind of acts like one of my friend's large shuriken star," the boy spoke up, with War glancing at him.

"Shuriken?"

"Yeah…I don't know the details, but I think it's something ninjas use," the boy said, thinking. "Yuffie's the only ninja I know, though."

War grunted before it floated from his hand. It turned into blue energy…and it went into his iron fist.

"What was that?" the boy asked, as he went over to look at his left arm curiously.

"It's something that the Four of us use," War answered. "It's rather useful, since it would allow us to use the concept of pocket-dimensions on ourselves, to help us carry equipment that we might need."

The boy blinked once. Twice. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Huh," the boy looked intrigued. "…That does sound useful." He looked at him. "…Think you can teach me later?"

War raised an eyebrow at him. "You want to learn how to use it?"

"Sure! It would make our lives a little easier – really easy," he nodded.

"…You do realize this is temporary," War reminded him.

"Oh. Uh…" The youth scratched his head a bit. "…Well, maybe the next time we run into each other? I mean…anything can happen." He shrugged. "You may never know on who you'll run into next."

"You're awfully carefree."

"Well…that's kind of who I am," the boy said, hands behind his head. "But…I do get serious when the time comes though."

War looked over at him. "…Are all humans like you?" He asked, incredulous.

"Well…not really," the boy admitted. "Some are different. But…I think different is good. Would be boring if everyone's the same."

Hmm…War supposes that is true. The two are different from each other, but War didn't know the humans much to know what they're like. But the boy is…unique, in some strange way. Yet what he said does bring truth – there are demons who are different, angels who are different…even the Four themselves are different from each other.

Though, they still have a mission to do.

"We need to find a way to Tiamat's lair," War said. "Her roost so to speak."

"All right," the boy shrugged a bit.

Yes, he knows his name…but the boy has yet to prove himself. He heard that there were once warriors among humanity…but that was then. War wanted to see on how much the boy is worth.

War is honorable, and placed duty above him. He detests strategy that uses deceit in anyway – cunning though some may be, he doesn't exactly like using it much. He is powerful, but he is far from stupid. He has years of wisdom under his belt, after all.

He is a warrior through and through. The boy had shown that he can at least manage to adapt, and maneuvered through areas…but he has yet to see if he has what it takes.

Flapping of wings.

War gave a look. He may have to see what the is capable of after all.

"Huh?" The boy also noticed it as well before they looked back to see the fire based Duskwings. "Those guys don't look happy!"

Coming up from the edges of the part of the land they're a part of, several Undead coming in.

"…And those guys are new," the boy remarked as the Undead got onto the platform they're on.

"Undead," War said as he got out his weapon. "Mostly residents of the Realm of the Dead. They had been brought in due to necromancy by most of the demons."

"Necromancy?" the boy parroted- before the two heard something coming in. They looked to where they first came in and…what came out is mostly red with parts of it swollen on the back, rib bones sticking out, has bits of clothing and armor on it. Yet…

"Eww!" The boy let out. "That just looks nasty!"

It gave a bit of a roar as a putrid green mist appeared around it.

"…And it's capable of emitting poison," War said. He glanced at the boy. "You can take care of the others, can you?"

"Uh- why?" The boy blinked at him.

"I'll be mostly dealing with that one. Make sure there's nothing to attack me while I do this," War answered. And part of it was so he can see on how the boy could do, handling them alone. "Can you do that?"

The boy glanced back at the enemies coming in behind them. "Uh…"

"Just remember not to be reckless, or try to show off," War added to him.

The boy gave a look at him before looking back. "…I wasn't trying to show off. I just…" he got out his weapon. "I just wanted to show that I can do it."

"…Then prove it," War said.

"Huh?"

"Prove that you can at least hold your own." War glances at him. "You can do that, can you?"

The two stood at least back to back with each other as their enemies closed in.

"…Okay," the boy answered. "Be careful."

War nodded before the two split off.

 _ **~o~**_

From experience, Sora decided to take care of the long-range attackers (the bats after seeing that they can breathe fireballs) first, before he took on the stragglers. A few Blizzaga spells quickly brought them down, before he fought against the Undead. Not exactly the first time, considering he fought against cursed, undead pirates, but…they're different in a sense as well.

There's a bunch, so he better be careful. Though he can use magic, it can only last for so long until his mana runs out, and he has to wait for it to recharge to pull off more. A bit annoying at times, but he has to pull this off.

A quick Thundaga got their attention to him, and he got into a stance as they got closer.

One of them took a swipe at him, which he ducked under, and had to roll away from another. Using the momentum, he used his weapon to do an uppercut to an Undead. He bashed it a few times before he used the teeth of the weapon to slash it down. Bits of blood came out of it. The two roars behind him quickly notified him that the other two are coming at him. Instinctively, he used Reflectaga to block the attacks. Normally, he would make it launch a counter attack…but…

He looked down at the other Undead, and behind him as the two are raring to get in another hit. The boy quickly dismissed the barrier, flipped over the Undead under him and in the motion held it up like a shield. The two took down one of its comrades…before Sora picked up the fallen blade while he replaces the Keyblade on his back, before using it to do a few slashes on them before cutting them down.

The Undead are, well, dead at his feet. The boy looked around for any more stragglers. "…Any more baddies?" He muttered.

He nearly jumped when he heard an explosion behind him. Looking behind him, he saw that War had already taken care of that…thing that came along. Sora glanced over and cringed a little at the head of the thing nearby. Did he…?

Sora shook his head. It's…probably something he'll have to get used to. He doesn't like it but…he…has to make do.

The boy went back to looking around for the enemies. Nothing.

Sora risked lowering his 'borrowed' weapon. "…Looks like we're good," he said to himself.

The boy glanced back to see War glancing at him…before he turned his head. _'But…I guess that's not enough,'_ Sora thought, sighing a bit. He looked over at the sword in contemplation, before at the Keyblade on his back. Should he…should he take this sword? Probably a good idea to take a second weapon just in case. Right? But how is he going to carry it…?

The boy looked over at War as he looks up at something. The man backed up a bit before he summoned the large shuriken in his right hand. With a flick, he sent it to a…switch? It turned from blue to red, and the large gate raises up to reveal another gate. But that one looks like it can be open. "Huh…" The boy let out…before the sword in his hands suddenly turned to dust. "Huh?"

He looked at his hands, startled. The boy looked around, and saw that the other swords are gone. "W-Where'd they go?" He asked, startled.

"What are you doing?" War asked.

"I had one of those guys' swords a little while ago, but…it just turned to dust!" Sora answered, looking around for them.

"Oh. You wouldn't know."

"Know what?" Sora blinked at the man.

"Necromancy is where people can have the power to commune with the dead, or make the dead do their bidding. Should they either fail to uphold it, or they had fulfilled it, they return to the Realm of the Dead."

Sora blinked. "…So…since they failed…they went back?" War nodded. "Their weapons included?" The man nodded again. Sora crossed his arms. "…Well that sucks." He had been hoping to at least get a secondary weapon, too.

"We don't get everything in life, boy," War said to him. "Not everything is easy, nor would it be simple."

Sora looked over at him. "I know that."

"Do you?"

…Sora had to think about it. Not everything is simple. War's right. It isn't…exactly easy most of the time. Some things aren't easy to just…do. Not to mention on a few choices as well.

The boy nodded. "Yeah."

War gave a small bit of a grunt. "We best be going."

Sora just nodded as War pulls the gate open. Sora jogged a bit to walk under it. Once he's on the other side, War moves through and moves his hands, letting the gate close behind him.

* * *

 **Oooh. I have plans for you, my young Keyblade user. Plans. -rubs hands evilly, making an evil smile-**

 **There's the first part of the Twilight Cathedral dungeon. The rest will come soon enough. For now...leave a review if you can.**


	8. Chapter 8

This one is a bit longer than the others. Several more changes are made in this dungeon. I tried to add a bit of comedy in a couple of parts (or maybe just one) but...I may have failed. I'll let you guys judge. Enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Darksiders series nor the Kingdom Hearts series. I do own some original characters that'll eventually pop up.**

 _Warning: I applied logic to a few things - this is NOT a video game. This story. So I wanted a few things to make sense without going into 'game logic'. I put this here in case I unintentionally pisss someone off._

* * *

Sora stared at something. He blinked.

And the red…eye on a barrier blinked back at him.

"…What is that?" Sora asked.

"That's one of the barriers I told you about," War answered.

"…Oh." Sora got out his Keyblade to point at it…but nothing happened. "Huh." He puts it back. "I guess you're right."

"Did you doubt me?"

Sora shrugged. "Well…it doesn't hurt to check, right? But since that didn't work, what are we going to do to get through there?"

"We'll need to find the Beholder's Key," War answered. "There should at least be one nearby."

Sora scratched his cheek a bit. "Well, let's look around a bit more. Maybe the way to where Tiamat is, is probably around here."

The Watcher appeared, a bored look on its face. "Well, did you figure that out? What's so obvious?"

"Well, I don't see you come up with anything," Sora said with a look.

"Are you implying that I'm not helpful boy?" The Watcher narrowed its eyes at him.

"Well, War pretty much figured out what to do with the statue a while ago," Sora pointed out, recalling that War tossed the Crossblade at a sticky bomb attached to it before telling Sora to check the back, where he blew up the other. It allowed the man to turn the switch to raise the statue. "And…how would that switch be protected from lava? Magic?"

"Yes," the Watcher said.

"Umm…I…GUESS that makes sense?" Sora asked, crossing his arms. This world is weird.

…Then again, some of the other worlds also have some weird rules and such.

"If you two are done, let's move on," War said, sounding mostly bored.

"Hmm…right. Let's get going," Sora nodded. Though while the man's back is turned, the two gave each other looks. Sora put his hands on his hips with a look, while the Watcher sneered at him. The Watcher pointed at him while Sora shook his fist at it. Someone clearing their throat got their attention, and they looked to War who had a deadpanned look on his face.

The two of them put their hands behind their backs, looking away from each other as Sora whistled.

The man gave a look before he turned away. The two gave each other glares- before he looked back, with them looking away.

War gave a sigh before he crossed his arms. "Are you two done?"

The man gave a look that made Sora cringe a little. "Uh…yeah," he nodded. "Sorry."

…That…felt a little strange. It feels like… Nah. He can't exactly picture the guy as a, dare he say, dad.

"Then let's get a move on," War said before he turned to head off.

Sora glanced at the Watcher as it floated by, looking like it was snickering before going into his gauntlet. Sora pursed his lips together a bit before he followed the man.

It took a bit of maneuvering around on their part – with having to explode those sticky bombs on certain areas to make a platform (even Sora knows that his self-made platforms wouldn't hold up on their weight), they went on the other side of the room to get in through the door.

Sora looked around the new area they entered. It's a mostly rounded room with a round platform in the center, with lava around it. On the platform are three statues of hooded people with wings…yet only two only had swords in their hands. The boy gave a look before he jumped, landing on the platform to look them over. "Hmm…" he muttered, crossing his arms.

War landed by him, the boy hearing his heavy footsteps on the ground as he walked. "Hmm…two pathways are blocked," the man noted. Sora blinked before he looked. Indeed, two of the pathways are blocked by the bigger gates. The path that doesn't have a path to it, and a path that has stairs but elevated.

Sora looked around, seeing the only open door. "Yet…that one isn't," he said. "Not to mention that those statues have swords in them." He lightly tapped a sword with his knuckle. They sound…real. The blades are odd looking, with the edges glowing red.

"…So, a Beholder's Key is in there within the last room," War said.

"Yeah…and I'm getting a feeling that these statues may be important," Sora said. "If we find the last one…" He nodded. "Well, one way to find out. Let's get that key!" The boy hurried down the stairs towards the only gate not blocked. He gripped the bar and tried to pull it up. Keyword 'tried'.

Even with the amount of grunting, he can't pull it up. Even with his strength (which isn't much in the grand scheme of things). The boy gave a look before pulled with his might…and slowly it raised up. He then pulled it up over him. The boy gave a smile. "I did it!"

…But then he looked to his side. War's the one who pulled it up.

A part of him died inside, making him lower his head with a small whine.

"Stay out here," War told him.

"Huh?" Sora jerked up at him.

"Stay. I won't be gone long," War said, lightly pushing him back.

"Hey-!" Sora let out before the man walked in, and the gate closed behind him.

Sora gave a bit of a huff. "…Show off," he muttered. The boy gave a look before he leaned against the gate, pressing his ear against it. He heard a lot of fighting sounds on the other side of it. And then silence. The boy blinked before he backed up, looking up. "…I…guess he got that covered."

But, now left to his own devices, he walked back to the center platform, rubbing his chin. A while back, the 'Watcher' said that War is the one who caused the premature apocalypse. Then…that makes War one of the Four Horsemen guys? But what exactly are 'Nephilim'? He didn't even think to ask Ulthane about it a while back. Now he wished he should have. He COULD ask War…but even Sora could tell that the man is, well…cold. Much more stoic than Auron, that's for sure. Or maybe Cloud. Hard to tell, really.

Sora can admit that he is naïve to some of the things in the world. And at times, still is. And yeah, he would miss a few things as well at times. But…he's not sure why but he can just _feel_ that there's something wrong here. Something…more, going on.

The boy's first impression of the man was…well, when he saw him kill a demon and had him pinned. War is…cold and serious. But he's experienced, Sora will admit. And considering on how old he is… he's…probably gotta be like that, since he lived for a REALLY, long time. Probably had to do a lot of things and seen a lot during those years.

But…somehow, the boy just… _knew_ that War doesn't look like the type of guy who would set off the apocalypse early. From what Ulthane said, the Four Horsemen are the enforcers. So, they would take their job seriously, right?

Something just doesn't feel right. He just can't figure out what!

The boy gave a look before he shook his head. He only knew the man for a little while, so…maybe he should at least get to know him a bit better. You obviously can't judge a book by its cover. Yet…the only problem is that it's temporary. Their partnership that is. It seems unlikely that he'll convince War to let him come along for the duration of…whatever he's doing.

…Now that he thought about it, they never mentioned on what War's 'mission' is. He was accused of a crime he didn't commit…and he has someone 'watching' him. Would that mean that…? He's trying to find the true culprit? To…punish them? Why target Tiamat? Is she a part of this mess? Or…?

Sora sighed. There's no way that either of them will tell him the true reason. Their partnership is just…temporary. They wouldn't care about what happens to a lone human, would they?

…Then he's gotta survive. No matter what.

The gate swung open, making Sora jump a bit. Taking a glance, it was War, emerging out from the room before he let the gate close behind him.

"Oh, uh, how'd it go?" Sora asked. That was the best he could do right then.

War looked over at him before he held up something. It looked to be a small…dagger? It looks like a dagger with a red eye on it, yet the handle looks like it can be gripped horizontally, rather than vertically.

"Uh…that's…the key?" Sora asked.

"Yes."

…Sora gave a look as he thought of the key barrier they saw a while ago. If that's the key, then…

The boy gave a shudder. Despite it being…demon made, being pierced in the eye must not be pleasant.

War puts it away. "We got the key. Let's move on."

"Ah, right," Sora slowly nodded. They then back-tracked to where the barrier is. Though…

It's one thing to visualize what would happen…but to _see_ it happen is another.

The boy cringed as the barrier demon wailed when it's eye was pierced, and turned, like unlocking a key. The man pulled it out, the key and the demon disappearing. Soon enough, the barrier dropped.

"Um…that…happened," Sora mumbled. War merely lifts the gate. Sora walks under it, before he moved in himself, letting it close behind him.

The new area has lava (of course), looking a bit more like a cavern. There are several fire bats around, but the two wordlessly took care of them with their long-range weapons and magic. One got close, but War merely jumped up, grabbed its face with his left hand and used the other to stab it through the chest. It struggled a bit before the Horseman quickly got off it before it fell to the ground.

Sora slightly shook his head at it before looking around. "Well…I guess we go right," he muttered to himself, looking as War looked over at few things himself before he jumped onto a part of the pillar near them. The boy looked at it a bit before he nodded. He backed up, and took a running start to wall run. Using a piece of the wall jutted out, he renewed his wall run before he gripped onto the part of the wall that he saw War use to get to the other side.

Sure enough, the boy landed on the other side, with him looking around a bit. "Okay…now where do we go?" He asked out loud. He noticed War looking over at something before he pulls something out. A rotating lever from a statue. The man twists it counter-clock wise…and emerging from the lava on the other side is a square shaped platform.

"Oh," Sora let out, surprised. He looked around, to try to find another. A spot directly across from the first statue is empty. But when he looked down, he saw that there's a grate. And it looks like that's where the other statue is. The boy looked over at the gate that's with them. Sneaking a glance, he saw that War has the same idea he had, looking at the gate himself.

For once, there aren't any words, the two of them approaching the gate. War pulled it up, with Sora walking under it before the Horseman walked under himself, letting it close behind them.

The new area is square in shape, with four pillars up. There are a couple of empty cages hanging over head.

…But then Sora narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second…" He muttered. He looked around, trying to find…something.

"What is it?" War asked him.

"…This place feels like it might have something big we gotta face. Or…even a horde," Sora said. "Trust me on this."

The Watcher appeared, looking bored. "I think you are overexaggerating, human," it said.

"I'm not!" The boy said. "Watch!" He walked forward. "I'm going to bet you at least 100 munny that it's gonna come!"

"…You do realize that we have no idea what 'munny' is do you?" The Watcher pointed out.

"I know that!" Sora turned back to them. "I'm just saying, it could happen, right about-!"

And the ground somewhat shook as something landed behind him, making him stop. He looked back to see that a cage had fallen. Though it seems that nothing had happened. Sora turned to look at them- but turned back, if it decided to pop out when he's not looking. Still nothing.

"Well, looks like you were wrong," the Watcher said as Sora looks back with a look. "I guess it was just your-"

And then something bigger landed behind him. Sora looked behind him to see that dust had covered it…before it's revealed to be something huge.

…And _ugly._

Sora looked back at the dumbstruck Watcher, gesturing with his hands. "Told you!" He said before he ran back. Once at a safer distance, he got a better look at the thing.

The skin is mostly a putrid orange color…and it looks like it might be a combination of all sorts of…things. The left arm is nothing more than a hook, with a bloated…part of it that has puss on it, and a cage hanging from it. In its chest is a light green zombie, stuck in a cage. It has a large, gaping mouth, and yet it has no eyes.

Sora stared at it with a blank look. "…Okay. That thing is, by far, the ugliest."

It then roared.

"And you've gone and insulted it," the Watcher said. "Well done." It added in sarcasm.

"I'm familiar with sarcasm," Sora said with a look. "And…would it even HAVE a capacity to feel insulted?"

"Why don't you ask it?"

"No thanks," Sora said as he got out his weapon. "I don't think it's in a talking mood."

"…You two bicker like children," War deadpanned.

"He started it," Sora said.

"Focus," the man said, with the creature swinging the cage around a bit- and a few Undead were flung out. Well that's typical.

 _ **~o~**_

"So, uh…what's the plan?" The boy asked as the two eyed the mutated beast.

War wordlessly looked over at it. This one is new, and it won't be easy. "We'll need to find a weak point," he said. "Once we find it, it can be used to take it down."

"Okay…easier said than done," the boy remarked. "…How do we do that?"

"We'll figure it out," the Nephilim answered. "Everything has a weakness." The puss looks like the likely weak spots…however…

His eyes went to the green Wicked in the cage. The cage is a part of the monster…so it would make the Wicked a part of it as well. And with no eyes…

Hmm…

"…If you say so," the boy said. "Though, we'll have to take care of the stragglers."

"It will only produce more," War pointed out.

"Well…just enough I guess," he said. "Let's go then."

The boy then started in on a couple that had gotten near them. War's eyes lingered on him before he got out Chaoseater, joining in on taking care of the Undead. Taking care of the Undead is easy enough. Just as fragile as the Wicked, but they are still things to watch out for. Yet the fight isn't easy, with the monster (that he heard the boy call 'Jailer' during the fight) trying to get into the fight, waving and smashing the cage about. It would usually go after him, or the boy. Mostly the boy.

More came along. He parried an attack, jostled it into the air and used his artificial hand to destroy it. He didn't wait for the body parts to land before he moved on to the others. He severed the torso from the legs of one. He brought his blade down on another. Something was destroyed during the process, but he ignored it. He ducked under a swing. Grabbed the attacker by the leg. Used it as a weapon, smashing it all around the ground. He jumped. He curled himself in. The steel _sings_ as he spins in the air, before slamming the weapon onto the ground.

He spotted a part of the pillar on the ground and climbed onto it, taking a few moments to survey the situation.

The boy had been dodging the mutant, jumping around, and whacking an Undead away. He continued to run from it…but he can notice him looking at the mutant occasionally, scrunching his face.

War turned his attention back to the Undead as they made their way to him. Back to matters at hand. He jumped behind the pillar. He reared his left arm back…and punched it. The Undead who were unfortunate to be behind it were caught up with it, and crashed against the wall. He got out Chaoseater, making quick work of the others that weren't behind it.

After what felt like forever, he cut down another when he heard:

"Hey!"

There was a crackle of ice. The boy had gotten to him. "I think I got it. That green…thing in that large guy is the brain. We gotta try to damage that."

War gave a look. "And how do you suppose we do that?" He asked.

The boy glanced back at something. War heard a couple of cracks. The boy had used ice magic to immobilize the mutant. "Well…I got an idea. I'm kind of asking if you'll trust me."

The Nephilim raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you planning?"

The boy looked back at him. "How high can you toss me? It's related to my plan."

War gave a look and chanced a glance at the mutant. It's pulling at the arm that's stuck to the floor, getting it out. It won't be long until it would get its arm free.

"…How far?"

"To toss me behind."

He gave a look. "…Very well."

"Well, that's the best I'm going to get," the boy said- before the mutant broke free of the ice.

It looked around for them, and War can see the green Wicked seeing them. It gestured wildly at them, with the Jailer looking over at them. It lumbered over to them.

"Here's your warning," War said as he grabbed the boy by the back of his jacket. This time the boy is ready. Before it got close, he threw the boy, over-head it. The green Wicked in the cage looked up, making the mutant stop and trying to look up.

…Leaving it open.

So that's his plan.

War summoned the Crossblade, and threw it. It hits all three of the pusses, making them explode. It roared as it fell onto its knee, stunned. It made the cage open, and the Wicked to lean out, stunned itself. The boy twists in the air and got out his weapon. The top sparked with electricity before he held it up. A rather strong bolt of lightning strikes the mutant and Wicked both, the two groaning from the shocks.

But a moment later, the shocks wore off. The pusses grew back and glowed red. The Jailer smashed the cage in anger. War narrowed his eyes, eying the cage.

"Take care of the Undead," he ordered the boy.

"Uh, sure," the boy called out.

 _ **~o~**_

Well, that didn't work, Sora thought as he went to take on the Undead. During the fight, he had been watching its movements…even testing to see if it could even see him at all. The green…thing is the brain, and the monster is the muscle. By at least distracting it, it would have given a lot of damage to it.

It was a good attempt though…

Not to mention that he's running low on mana. He ought to at least save it for later.

With that in mind, he quickly picked up one of the fallen swords and quickly got to work. His speed and agility made quick work of them, taking them down.

"Okay, I think that's all of them," he muttered- before the area shook. Startled, he looked to the source.

War looked to be in a power struggle with the Jailer (that's what he had called it, considering that they're somewhat in a jail area and it has cages on it). The boy turned around- and War forcibly wretches it out of its hand. The fingers are bent, with bone sticking out (with Sora cringing a little). Its fingers must have broken when that happened. War then uses the cage to smash it's arm away, making several holes onto it with the spikes peeking out. Followed by a jump, doing an uppercut with the cage- before he turned in the air and _threw_ it at the Jailer. The guy must have been REALLY, strong to make it fall onto the ground with such force, kicking up dust. He even saw the green thing's cage fall open as a result.

"…Wow…" Sora muttered, startled. The man turned a bit and made a shush motion. Sora glanced at the Jailer before nodding. He quickly hid behind a part of the intact pillars that managed to survive the fight. Slowly, the boy poked his head out as the dust settled.

The green thing pounded its fists into the Jailer's chest, trying to resuscitate it. However, it must have noticed that the two had suddenly disappeared, looking around for them. It didn't even notice War sneaking up behind it, holding his sword ready…before he pounced. He stabs the blade under it, while using his left hand to grab it by the head. It struggled as blood spewed out…before the man snapped its neck. He wretches the sword free as he jumped off…before landing on the ground, the sword back on his back. Blood fell freely around him, with green gas coming from where the two are severed.

Sora emerged from hiding as the Jailer faded away. "That's…something," he said. He crossed his arms, feeling disappointed at himself. "I thought for sure that would have taken it down, though…"

…Well, it's not like he tried. It was the effort that matters, right…?

"…It was a good attempt," War spoke up.

Sora blinked in surprise, looking up at him. "…Really?" He asked, surprised.

"You spotted it's weak-point, and took advantage of it," the man said. "One of the warrior's greatest tools is knowledge. How you can know about your opponent, and use that knowledge to take it down. It's not always brute strength that can down a foe." He looks up and heads towards the gate that is opening. "Make sure to remember that."

Sora stared at him in surprise. And then…it hits him.

He knew. He also knew where the weak-points are at. Yet he didn't say anything. Why?

Was he just…testing him? To see how he would do?

The boy gave a look. He probably shouldn't over think it.

He looked through the grates under them. _'…And who knows, maybe I'll find something down there,'_ he thought. The boy looked up and hurried towards the elevator.

 _ **~o~**_

As the platform (serving as an elevator for the two) descended, the two stood there, patiently waiting for it to get to its destination. Soon enough, it hits the lower level. The gate rises, allowing them to enter the new area. Sora slowly peeked out, looking both ways. No enemies to the left- just one of those sticky bombs with a black aura around it. No enemies to the right- just a cluster of red crystals.

Straight ahead is a hallway with lava at the floor…and another set of red crystals.

War had walked out to look around himself. Eyes lingering on the crystals to the right with a look. He glanced over at the boy as he looked over at the hallway before them, looking at both sides of it. The boy looked back at him.

"I'm going on ahead to see," he said. "Be back soon." The boy took a run at the wall, and wall runs along the left side first.

At least he's doing his job, War thought. The man looked over at the red crystals near him. He glanced over at the inert bomb growth. The man's eyes glanced at where the boy went before he went over to it. He grabs it and threw it at the crystals near him. After that, he waited…

…Which isn't long, as the boy poked his head out. "There's a switch over here," he said. "I don't think I could turn it."

War glanced over at the bomb growth on the crystal. "…See if you can make it to the other end," he said. "There is likely an ambush hiding in there."

Sora blinked. He looked over at it…then perked up. "Oh. Okay. Do I wait for your signal or something?"

The Nephilim gave a slight nod. Sora nodded back before he made his way to the other entrance, before he pokes his head out. The boy gave a thumb up, to show that he's ready.

War summoned the Crossblade. He aims…before he flicks it. It hits the torch, before heading to the bomb with fire on its aura. It flew back to his hand as the bomb has fire on it…before it exploded, destroying the red crystals. The Nephilim made a gesture to tell the boy to go.

Sora nodded before he quickly jumped ot the other side…just as several enemies came out. They dealt with them rather quickly in the pincer movement. Distracted by him, it made it easy for the boy to take them down from the back, with War finishing them off at the front. One of them, he did the same for another earlier – after he had made it stop spewing poisonous gas out of its body, he runs Chaoseater through it, before he rams his artificial hand into its head. Then he backs off, his sword out…and its head in his hand.

War merely tossed the mutated monster's head aside as the blood and poisonous gas escapes from its head, the body lumbering a bit without its head. Sora looked a little…disturbed, before he backed away from it.

"…That explains how," he muttered, at a safe distance from it before War tossed the Crossblade at it, making it explode. A body part bounced by him, with him watching it go. "…Well. Okay. Let's get going." He looked over at the head and kicked the creepy thing away. It incidentally landed in the lava near them, quickly burning away as it sinks into it.

The boy had to suppress his shudder (he's gotta get used to it eventually) as he looks up. He walked forward. "Gotta keep moving…" he muttered.

War watched the boy during it. How well do humans handle things like this? He asked himself. He had been fighting for eons, before and after he had become a Horseman. It had given him ample time for him to get used to such things, brutal or not. It's obvious the boy hadn't seen true horror…at least, not yet.

The boy had proven himself useful, true, but…he is still a greenhorn. The Nephilim doubted that the boy would take a life – either for duty or not. Demons and angels can produce more of their kind. Other means were utilized outside of reproduction. But even with numbers, eventually there are some who dies. Life is like that.

An inevitable thing that can happen. An inevitable reality. Though it seems that humans don't have the luxury to live long lives. Perhaps that's secretly a blessing for them. Who knows?

As the boy kept moving, he followed along.

It didn't take long for the two of them to get to the switch that Sora had mentioned. War turned it counter clockwise…before a grate opened with the two noticing it. A torrent of water came out of it, hitting the lava. Heavy steam covers the area for a while…until the water is emptied out.

In place of the lava, is a path of rock. Water covers the top of it, parts of it steaming a little.

Sora gave a look…before he aims the Keyblade at it. He concentrated a bit as the tip glows ice blue…before it shot an ice ball. A single shot completely froze the top. The boy tapped the top. "Okay. If it's still hot, the ice would melt," the boy said, before standing on it. "Though, it looks like we can use this."

War glanced at the other set of red crystals before he headed towards where the inert bomb growth is. "Do you still have enough mana?" He asked.

"Uh, sure," Sora answered. "Why?"

War didn't answer at first…but when he came back, he has the bomb growth in hand, holding it up. Sora blinked…before he looks over at the torches. They look…a bit wet. The boy looks back at the red crystals. "Oh." The boy hurries over to where the man is, at a safe distance from the explosion.

War tosses the bomb at the crystals, before Sora carefully aims…and fired a fire ball at it. It lit up…before exploding. It revealed another room behind it.

"All right!" Sora cheered. His foot slid a little, making him lose his balance a little. He quickly used the wall to save himself, slipping a bit. He didn't expect it to be THAT slick!

…Though, War merely walked over it, heading towards the opening. Sora watched him go before making a look. The boy carefully used the wall to follow the Nephilim over the ice, before he enters the room. He didn't walk in the room all the way as War looks over at a statue. It looks identical to the one they saw on the upper floor, with a rather old switch before it. One of those lever kinds on the ground. Looking over at it, the man grabs it and pulls it the other way.

The statue shook a bit before it elevated towards the upper level. "Well, that's one thing done," Sora said. "I guess we better head back up."

War gave him an 'isn't it obvious?' look before he turned and left. The boy glanced at him before following him back to the elevator.

 _ **~o~**_

There was little to no incident on their way back to the top. Hardly anything had tried to attack them, to try to impede their progress. An omen? Or will there be a bit more of a fight in the room on the other side of the room across from them. If there will be, there must be something of importance in there. Something that they don't want him to get.

Either case, there will be a fight.

They reached the room where the statue had gotten back with its twin. "No bats this time," the boy said as War went over to the other statue.

He turns it like the other previous. And sure enough, another platform rose from the lava.

"Hey, a gate opened up over there," the boy called out.

War took a glance. Hm…he did recall there being a metal gate. Activating both may have raised it. Interesting.

All this effort should at least be worth it.

The Nephilim approached the first platform as the boy sizes up the distance. "Hm…Don't think I can jump that far…" he heard the boy mutter to himself. He looked to the paths that he had used to get to this side a while back, then to the other side. "Hmm…"

He left the boy to his own devices, backing up a bit before he took a running start...and jumped. He landed on the platform with no problem, before he jumped to the other. He made the final jump to the other side. He may not be as power as he previously was, but at least he's still capable of doing his feats. Not to mention that he's not as fragile as a human, so a fall from the height of a two-story building wouldn't hurt him much.

As for the boy…well, he can get over here in his own terms. If he's as resourceful as he looks, he can come over here. The Nephilim headed over through the opening, getting to another gate. On both sides are the switches, like some of the others he had seen so far. Although…

He went up to the parts of the wall around the gate, looking over at them. He ran his hand on it. These are jutted out from the wall, so this will be most likely impossible for him to use the Crossblade…ordinarily.

The man got out the Crossblade, looking over at it. Its Maker made, true…but the energy imbued into it is powerful.

…Also, it felt familiar…

After examining it again…he felt it.

Ah. So that's it.

He recalled a while back – centuries before the premature End-War in fact – that Death had told him that Abaddon asked him for help. That a demon had taken down ten of his best warriors on Earth. When he had gotten there, it turns out that it was an angel…yet what was disturbing was that, when her 'charm' was taken off, did she exude some…substance. It was black, made her eyes (and the other humans worshiping her) glow yellow with black tentacles coming out of her. The charms in question are shaped like the item he has in hand. They protect the person who wears them…but everyone else has the same 'sickness' – that black substance.

War never heard of or seen anything like it before. Granted, he had heard of a few instances of that substance – that Death had titled 'Corruption' – but he never actually seen it. While things become corrupted in time, 'Corruption' doesn't exactly turn certain beings in Creation evil. Some things are just evil in nature, or it's just hidden deep within. During all this time, not did War find or see anything like it.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen it at all. It's just…strange. Is just this area free of that 'corruption'? And how did this Crossblade end up here? He didn't personally meet the angel, but he can feel the rather powerful angelic magic within it, all the same. And knowing most angels…

Hmmm.

The Nephilim slowly backed up to get to a considerable distance- until he felt something on his back. And then heard a thud behind him. He glanced behind him, seeing the boy on the ground, holding his face.

"Ugh…is your body made of steel…?" The boy muttered before moving his hands, showing his face. His nose is a bit red.

"So, you made it over here," he said to the boy.

The boy slowly stood up. "Well…it wasn't easy," he said. "I don't think I could even wall run on the wall near here, so I had to jump over here."

"You jumped?"

"I can't super jump, I just managed to jump to the first platform," the boy explained. "I nearly didn't grab onto the edge in time, but…well, I'm still here. Anyway, I guess what matters is that I managed to get over here safely."

War grunted.

"So, what are you doing?" The boy asked him.

War holds up the Crossblade. "To test something." He concentrated…before he threw it. It hits one of them…before it practically slices through the pillars between the gate, and hits the other. Both lit up gold before turning red as the Crossblade returns to him. The grate covering the gate rises, allowing them access.

"Uh…what just happened?" The boy asked, surprised. "It…went through the pillars? That doesn't make any sense!" He went up to the pillars and looked over at them. "It's…a nice clean cut? How'd that make sense?"

"It's not an ordinary… 'shuriken' as you call it," War said, dismissing it. "You noticed the 'aura' around it, haven't you? It's what lets some elements – like fire and the poison gas – to be transferred to objects or enemies. That aura lets it go through obstacles like that."

"But wouldn't that cause physical damage to the environment?" Sora asked. "That wouldn't exactly make sense."

"This building is already falling apart," War pointed out. "And the Crossblade is a sacred weapon used by a Corrupted angel before Death dealt with them. I would assume that they used magic to enhances its ability to slice through anything- even the environment itself."

"…Really? It can do that?" The boy asked.

"Yes. I've seen for myself on how some Angels can use their energy and magic to make their weapons cut sharper. To slice through things cleanly. It takes years upon years of diligence and practice to accomplish that, however."

"Huh," the boy let out, intrigued. "The more you know."

"You're taking this in stride," War remarked, walking up to the gate.

"Well…I've seen a lot of weird things. I can't even tell you."

"Then don't talk," the man said before he lifts it open. "Focus on now."

"Uh, right," the boy said as he lifts the gate…but not all the way.

He looks to the boy and jerks his head. The boy's eyes lit up before he crawled under it. He hefts it a little higher, crouched under and over to the other side…before he eased the gate down. There is a reason for why he doesn't just announce his presence at times.

On the walk way suspended from a lowered platform, the two looked over from the edge. There are several Undead…but there is also an undead with huge, ornate armor and an axe.

"That guy is new," the boy whispered. "Though the armor makes it look tough."

At his current strength, his defenses are weakened. Before, he could have, at the very least handle that kind of damage. That sort of armor looks to be made to withstand heavy attacks. It would have been easy to deal with them if he has his Chaos Form. But that power is gone, along with most of his other powers.

Yet there wouldn't be one (or there are more lurking) here…unless…

"Hey, that sword looks important," the boy whispered to him.

War looked up. In a pedestal before an angel statue is a sword identical to the others previously seen a few rooms back. But the edges are colored blue instead of red. "…That must be what we need," he muttered.

"So…how do we deal with those guys?" The boy silently asked him.

The Nephilim looked over at them all. "We'll have to do the usual," he said.

"Me keeping the runts and you taking on the big ones. Right…"

"However, since it's what we need, there is a possibility that there would be more coming in," War pointed out. "More being summoned."

"Oh. That's typical," the boy muttered.

"At least you are no stranger to danger," the Nephilim said.

The boy looked at him. "…I can't tell if you're trying to joke or not."

"I wasn't joking."

"Okay, sorry." The boy looked down at the enemies. "Hmm…well, we won't get any progress at all if we just sit here, right?"

War gave a slight nod at that.

"Well, all right then," the boy muttered, looking down at them. "I'll get their attention first. Then, you do your thing."

War gave a bit of a grunt. "Very well. Try not to get yourself killed."

"Right…" The boy muttered, looking over. After a few moments…he jumped. He landed on an unsuspecting Undead, stole its weapon and quickly killed it. It got the attention of the others, the Undead closing in on the boy…

…Before he jumped down behind the armored Undead. It noticed him behind it and turned. _"Who daresss?"_ It hissed.

The Nephilim got out his weapon, not saying a thing.

The rest of the battle was mostly a blur. He mostly focused on taking down the enemies. It isn't exactly easy to keep any or all from damaging him, or to get a lucky shot.

In a span of a minute…it's over.

War looked around the area. Most of the Undead are down, from the weapons on the floor. Several are cut in half – horizontal or vertical – and there are several who have slash marks on them. The armored Undead is severed from its legs, the right arm cut off, pieces of its armor scattered…well, now that he looked, there's two more of them. An axe is put to one's head, and the other is decapitated. A mutant that has the poisonous gas around it has an axe sticking out of it, nailed to the ground.

The scent of blood hits his nose. At least these creatures were not truly living, otherwise he would have smelled something else by now.

He then registered heavy panting. He looked at the source, seeing the boy, panting. In his hands are dual blades, most likely taken from the Undead that he utilized. There is mostly blood on him, but with his clothes dark, it's hard to tell if he has any on them.

After a few moments, the boy regained his breath enough to look around. "Oh…it's over?" He asked.

War looked around at the area. No enemies in sight. "…Not that's to be seen," he answered.

The boy heaved a sigh. "Thank…goodness…" he let out, falling to his knees.

The Nephilim noticed that he had gotten a few wounds on himself. He was hoping to at least save it, but…

Sheathing Chaoseater for now, he held up his gauntlet, the skull facing up. It glowed before a small green crystal appeared from it. Using his artificial hand, he takes the crystal, and crushes it. Green colored souls appeared from his hand before it covers him. He gave a bit of a hum as its energy covers him, healing the wounds he had gotten in the fight.

But, sure enough, the glow went away.

It would do, for now.

He lets the boy rest as he came to the crystal sword, looking remarkably intact after all that. He looked over at it before he sighs. He couldn't exactly carry it around, while also carrying Chaoseater. He could, but he needs his hands free for any other fights they may get into. It looks sharp enough to be used as a weapon though.

He gave a hum before he reached for Chaoseater. He held up the sword, looking at it.

' _Go on,'_ he 'said' to it. _'It won't be long. Just enough for us to get the sword to its place.'_

He heard a hiss in the back of his mind.

' _Don't give me that. You can stand to be patient, can you?'_

A low hiss is heard…before the blade glowed a blood red aura before going into his artificial arm. With that done, he reached out, grabbed the sword by the hilt and pulled. It came out easily. The blue light it had and the flames by the sides faded out. The Nephilim twirled the sword a bit before placing it onto his back.

The platform under them jerked before it began to rise. "Oh," the boy let out, as War turned to where the entrance is. "It's just the platform rising."

They just waited until it's level with the exit. He watched the boy move around a bit, looking around. After a few moments, the boy sighed. "Well…nothing here…" the boy muttered before he walked over to him. "Well, I'm good. Let's get going."

War tilted his head at him. "Were you hoping to find clues to get off this world?" It's somewhat the reason the boy is with him after all.

"Well…yeah," the boy admitted, crossing his arms. "I mean…I guess a part of me knows I won't find it…but, I guess I can't help but be hopeful."

The man looked over at the boy. At the time, he was more focused to get to Tiamat. Now though…a question lingered on his mind. How did the boy get through the barrier?

As a Horseman, he _knows_ of it, but not exactly the whole detail. When the pact was forged eons ago, between Heaven and Hell, a barrier is formed around the world – _literally_ , the world. That means not even Angels and Demons – no matter how powerful they are – would not try to interact or mess with the worlds outside of the connected realms. The world known as 'Earth' would serve as the final battle ground for both forces. It's mostly for fairness, that neither side would get any ideas to try to branch out to several other worlds, where there are, perhaps, thousands if not millions of humans out there.

And lastly, there can be NO. Outside interference. All is aware of the key shaped weapons that steals the light, produced by humans to 'fight back' against the darkness. While he admits, there are some that try to do the right thing…but none truly can resist temptation of power. After all, power is dangerous for a reason. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Truer words that had been spoken. No one was sure how they eventually went to war against each other – some had speculated that their greed had gotten to a point where they fought against each other. Some say that there are those that fear the darkness, and their disagreement with their fellow Keyblade Wielders, who saw darkness as a necessity, and that caused the war to erupt between different ideals. Whatever the case, and what the real cause was, the Keyblade cannot even make an opening in the barrier as well. And so far, there seems to have been none who tired it, or even realize this part of the universe existed…

…And yet, how did this boy get through? From the look of him, he isn't exactly experienced – with him having said so himself when they started their temporary partnership – yet on the other hand, not even true masters know of this location.

Was it just pure, dumb luck then?

War doesn't believe in something like that. That everything was decided by chance. Nor that everything is decided by fate.

In either case, he may as well ask the boy about it later. They're getting close to reaching Tiamat.

"Let's go," War said to the boy before heading to the gate.

"Uh, right," the boy responded before following him along.

They had backtracked all the way to the platform where they first discovered the swords and the statues. Very little stood in their way – the crystal sword did rather well to help fight them off. But it wouldn't easily replace Chaoseater.

Soon enough, they returned to the room, where little had changed. The two jumped onto the platform, with the boy looking around. "Nothing here," he said.

"For now, at least," War pointed out, looking at the statue that doesn't have a sword. He took it into his hand and climbed up slightly. He noted a notch where the tip of the sword can be put into, and places it in. He jumped down and backed up. He held up his gauntlet and summoned Chaoseater again, placing it onto his back. As he did that, the statue's arms moved on their own to grasp the hilt of the blade- and the blue color turned red with a glyph appearing on it.

Suddenly, the area began to shake.

"Uh…what's happening?" The boy yelped as pieces of the ceiling falls to the ground.

"Just stay calm," War told him.

"How can I be calm right now?" The boy exclaimed.

"Panicking won't help things, would it?" War shot back.

The boy let out a bit of a groan- before the place stopped shaking. "…Uh…" Then the ground under them shook. "Oh!" And the platform begins to rise. "What's happening now?"

War looked up, but he didn't answer. There is a grate over them that retracts back into the ground above them…and rain hits them. It rises until they appear to be in a courtyard. The downpour had become a light drizzle since they were last outside.

The Nephilim gazed around the new area that they had entered. There is rubble around, a couple of them that looks recent. Some even blocked an entrance near them. It looks like Tiamat and the Angelic Beast's battle had done more damage than he thought.

"Huh…we're in a different courtyard," the boy remarked, looking around. "Where do we go…" the boy trialed off as he looked at something, "…now?"

War looked in the direction he's looking at. There is a seal over a pair of doors, connected to a tower near them. The seal has a sigil on it and a couple of glyphs on it.

"…Think that looks important?" The boy asked- before the seal disappeared. "Oh. Uh…okay. That answered my question."

The two approached the doors, the boy reaching out and pushed against it, opening one side of it. Walking inside, there is a spiral staircase leading upwards.

This must lead to Tiamat's roost then.

War looked at the boy, who was about to close the door. "If you want to leave, this is your chance," he told the boy. "Tiamat is likely at the top of the cathedral." And she would not hesitate to kill him. He didn't say it, but the boy would get the message.

"Uh…" the boy let out- and then the door slammed suddenly, making him jump. "Whoa!"

The seal appeared once again…effectively trapping them in the tower.

"…That's…not gonna happen," the boy said, backing away. "Though, that's kind of typical," the boy muttered, arms crossed as he glares at the door.

Typical indeed. Tiamat must have sensed that they're here then.

"Well, since you're stuck, be careful," War cautioned him. "Tiamat isn't your average beast."

"So…she's not a demon?" The boy asked him.

"She is, one of the few that are the oldest to emerge from the Abyss," War explained. "Some say they are powerful, but no one has seen just how powerful they can be, really."

"…And you're after her why?" the boy questioned him.

At least he is questioning things, instead of just naïvely taking it.

"She has something that I need. That's all," War answered.

The boy sighs. "Why do you gotta be so cryptic?"

"You won't get straight answers at times," the man told him before he walked up the stairs. He was given cryptic answers at times himself.

His heavy footsteps walked on. He heard the boy following him. As they got near the top, rain fell onto them. At the top, there is a path that leads to a wider area, a large, circular platform that looks like it can fit Tiamat on it…or a place to fight her.

Wordlessly, the two walked on, over the bridge connecting one of the towers to it.

A trail of blood leads to the center of the platform, before the trail is gone. There are several corpses on the ground, nothing more than dry husks. They look as if they had been there for many years. On the other tower, the Bat Queen is perched on the top. In her hands is the Angelic Beast. The body is limp, unmoving. She was feasting on her latest prey then. It will be her last.

The Bat Queen took notice of them. Or mostly him, moving away from the Angelic Beast. "Has the Council reduced the Horsemen to common assassins?" She demanded, her voice raspy.

"Uh…what?" The boy asked.

She dropped the body, climbing down. "Or has Samael bought your loyalty?" She asked.

"Who?" The boy asked again.

She got onto the platform, to stand before them. "Because, if you are for sale, Rider…perhaps we can strike a deal," Tiamat proposed.

War remained stoic. He drew Chaoseater. "You won't like my terms," he answered.

Tiamat growled, before standing on her hindlegs and roared before taking flight.

* * *

 **And a cliffhanger here. Sorry folks. The next chapter will have the fight scene with Tiamat. Wait until August the 3rd for that one.**

 **Leave a review on here, please. Reviews can make ANY person happy. I know this story may be crappy, but I like some reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

Here we go, the Tiamat battle. I had some help with this chapter, but...it probably sucks. Anyways, enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Sora had to admittedly back up, drawing his Keyblade when Tiamat had gotten close. "Because, if you are for sale, Rider…perhaps we can strike a deal," the…bat woman said, mostly focused on War.

The man didn't answer at first. Then he drew his sword. "You won't like my terms," he answered.

' _I am so lost right now…'_ the boy thought, nervous. What was Tiamat talking about? War being an assassin? And who the heck is Samael?

He won't get his answers right now, because Tiamat doesn't look happy at the apparent rejection, roaring before she flew off. Sora watched her fly behind them- before she used fireballs to take down the bridge behind them. Well, there goes their exit.

Sora looked at War, incredulous. "Are you seriously picking a fight with her?" He asked. That's just, crazy and…!

…Okay, who is he one to talk? He has a habit of doing that himself.

"You should have accepted my offer, Horseman!" Tiamat called out as she flew around the platform. "Such a pity."

Sora's eyes darted around the area. Tiamat has the sky, so she can just fly around and nail them if they try to use the pillars as cover. Not to mention that she can breathe out fireballs, so there's that. They need to bring her out of the air somehow.

He then quickly noticed a few things. There are several of those sticky bombs about, in a black aura. Like some of the others he had seen a while back. There is also torches with fire still on them – Sora would have to assume that the fire is magic, because normal fire would have not been able to burn after all that rain – about as well.

The boy quickly picked on up one of the bombs, as he heard from Tiamat, "This will not end well for you, Horseman."

"War, look at this," Sora spoke up, turning to the man. When he caught his eye, Sora held up the bomb. "Think we can use this?"

"Hmm…" War looked at Tiamat. "We can," he noted. "Wait for her to get close."

The boy nodded.

 _ **~o~**_

After Sora had gotten the inert bomb growth, he watched where Tiamat is going, hurrying over to a pillar with it in hand. He hid behind on of them, before looking at War. The man kept his eyes on the Bat Queen as she flies around. She has yet to notice the young human. They're taking advantage of that.

The boy hid, his small size an advantage as he waited. The man stayed where he's at, waiting…and soon enough, Tiamat had gotten close.

Close enough for the boy to quickly throw the bomb, with it latching onto her. Before she had time to notice, War had quickly focused with the Crossblade before tossing it at a lit torch…before it flew all the way to where the bomb is, igniting it. When it came back to his hand, the bomb then explodes, with Tiamat screeching. Smoke had covered her from the explosion, before she fell out of it, crashing onto the platform.

"Did that do it?" Sora asked, slowly standing up.

War gave a look. "No. Not likely," he said as Tiamat slowly got up, growling. "It'll take more than that."

As she stood up…she suddenly noticed something. "A human? There's one still alive?" She asked, sounding surprised. She gave a rather sinister chuckle. "After I dealt with the Horseman, I'll see about devouring you." She licked her lips before taking flight again. "I look forward to devouring you, human."

Sora…admittedly went pale. "…Okay, I think I got her attention now…" he muttered.

The Watcher appeared, giving him a dry look. "You think so?" It rhetorically asked.

"Stay focused," War told them. "Though, it looks like we've lost our element of surprise."

The boy thought about it…before looking up. "Well…she knows that I'm here…so she would focus on me. Easier prey. I guess I could use myself to lure her away…" he said.

"Oh, so you're willing to be bait?" The Watcher asked before giving a slightly dark chuckle. "This will be interesting to watch."

"Yeah keep laughing you...ghost thing!" Sora replied. "And would you want to take her down?" He added with his eyes narrowed.

"...I simply lack the means unless I were attached to her- but it would be disobeying the council. And I fear them on what they'll do to me MORE than her."

"So, what you're a parasite or something? And what about War? He wouldn't have to listen to you." Sora replied. "In fact, he could've easily gotten rid of you."

Tiamat screeched before War gave a look. "Save your petty arguments for later when this is done- focus on the battle."

"Okay, okay, let me get to work," Sora said, looking up at her. He isn't sure if he has enough mana to use a spell to get her attention, and at the distance, making faces at her wouldn't do the trick...hmm...

...All right, he'll have to wing it. It worked for him before he got to this world. (Even if it was most of the time...)

Sora gave a look before he soon began to scale to a higher ground and readied his Keyblade.

He waved his weapon a bit, getting Tiamat's attention. While that's happening, War grabbed another inert bomb, before he waited for the right moment to throw it.

As Tiamat soon closed in Sora soon leapt back, throwing his Keyblade at the Bat Queen. It bashed against the head of the beast, flying in the air before it lands on the ground while War throws the bomb at another part of her. Sora rolls on the ground, grabs the Keyblade in the roll before he got back to his feet. He pointed the tip at Tiamat, the tip glowing red-orange…before it launches a fire ball. It flies. towards its target.

As it did, Tiamat soon looked over to try to get a pass at the boy…before the spell contacted the Bomb Spore- and exploded. The Bat Queen screeched from the blast. The smoke cleared as she flaps her wings, trying to keep herself afloat…before she soon crashes against the arena the two of them are on with the boy surprised.

"That's...gotta hurt..." The boy muttered with a wince. He was mildly tempted to check over the edge, but something told him to stay where he is...

Before a hand reached up from the edge and grabbed the top. Tiamat soon pulled herself up, looking infuriated. The explosions did a number on her, but she's still alive. War wasn't kidding when he said it would take more than that to take her down.

"...Okay...how many of those would actually take her down?" Sora murmured to the Horseman.

Tiamat snarled before she soon begins to tear apart the grounds, getting rid of the inactive bombs.

She also made sure that they would be over the edge, and out of reach.

"Aw man," Sora muttered.

"Looks like she wised up," War said with a look.

Sora was about to ask a question before Tiamat launched fireballs at them, making the two dodge the fire balls. After the onslaught, she took off flying again.

"Okay...! So, she can still fly and we're not able to blow her up anymore with bombs. Got any plans?" Sora asked, looking up at Tiamat.

The Horseman growled a little to himself, eying Tiamat. The only way to bring down a flying beast is to usually clip their wings. Or in cases for beings with membranes and not feathers, make a hole or slice them. If they have tail fins, it would also render them unable to fly. Tiamat doesn't have tail fins, but she wouldn't need them.

"The Crossblade can't reach that far, and Tiamat won't make it easy to get to her wings," War said. "Not unless you would jump onto her and render one of them useless."

Sora noticed that and smirked. "...Well, one way to find out. Let me see what I can do!"

The Watcher appeared, looking bored. "Don't tell me you're serious."

...He didn't get an answer. They looked to where the boy is...only to see that he's gone. They looked forward, seeing the boy taking off.

"He's actually serious?!" the Watcher sputtered, incredulous.

"The Bat Queen is eying him right now. But if she had any ego and if I interfere... she'll turn her attention afterwards. We just need one of her wing's membranes to fail." War replied.

Still...what he's doing is rather reckless. Again. Although...

He furrowed his brows a bit before he summons the Crossblade again.

May as well try to get her attention.

He soon waited for the Bat queen to close before Sora readied to move but as soon as she got close... She got hit by the blades to ruin her focus with Sora noticing before he leapt onto the claws with Tiamat screeching. "HORSEMAN!"

Tiamat then flew at him as War caught the Crossblade, the man barely having time to dodge Tiamat when she raked her claws on the platform as she passed. The Horseman rolled to his feet, sneering at her.

Meanwhile Sora had this smirk on his face as he held as he soon began to climb slowly as Tiamat circled around to wait for another chance to strike at War. Though, as she does...she then noticed something. Something that was missing. Where did the human go? As she looks on the platform, she couldn't find the boy.

The Bat gave growl as she tried to survey around before Sora was in position before he soon slid down the side before using the end of his Keyblade with the side with Tiamat screeching before it made a sizable hole on one of her wings.

"Got it!" Sora exclaimed...before his stomach lurched as they began to fall. "...Oh god!" He yelped out as he held on for dear life.

Sora soon quickly tried to get on the side where he thinks Tiamat was going to land before Tiamat crashed against the building top with Sora quickly getting off with him returning to War. "...Well, that was close!"

War grunted with a curt nod. The boy managed to bring her down. Not bad. "We're on level ground with her," the Horseman said. "Don't let your guard down."

"I know," Sora said as Tiamat slowly got up, growling. "I mean, we may of grounded her but that wouldn't stop her from using her wings to try and blow us off right?" Sora asked.

"One of them," War said. "But she could very well jump herself."

"...Right." Sora nodded seriously.

Tiamat snarled and roared, before she came at them. Honestly, it's like trying to fight against a wild animal. A massive, wild animal with wings.

She soon tried to swipe at them with claws with the two evading as Sora gave a serious look. "Tch!"

Gotta be a way to bring her down. But how? At least enough to render her unable to move. She has her claws and her tail, and there's also a possibility that her wings can give her an edge still...

War gave a look. "Try to get out of the way if she charges to us."

"Huh?" Sora let out confused with the Bat Queen screeched with Sora jumped and quickly tried to move.

As he does, Tiamat stamped the ground before she did charge at them. The boy yelped before he quickly got out of the way...yet War still stood in her path, getting into a stance.

"H-Hey!" The boy yelped out-

Before the man caught her. He skidded back a bit...but he managed to effectively stop her. He then used his iron fist to punch her in the face, stunning her. He jumped up...and punched her harder. Hard enough to actually have her sent flying back.

The boy made a blank stare. "...I keep forgetting how strong you are," he admitted.

"She's stunned for now." War said to him before he soon drew his blade and laid into the bat queen. He cuts her up on the arms, legs, to even the membrane of her other wing.

Sora meanwhile aids in damaging the face before he quickly got back when the Bat Queen began to recover.

She gave a snarl, glaring at Sora- before swatting him away.

"Augh!" Sora let out in pain as he was sent back- but soon landed on his left arm wrong. It was only through quick thinking and reflexes that he grabbed the ledge with his right arm. As he was left dangling there, he tried to most his left arm…but quickly found that he couldn't, feeling it throb. _'Augh, not again! Why not?'_ Sora mentally growled, handing there.

For War, he only saw the boy fly towards the direction of the ledge. He gave a look before he charged. He jumped over her tail swipe, slid under another and got close enough to get near her.

Tiamat growled and swiped at him. He got hit on his side, but he pushed through it- before punching her in the face again. She tumbled on the ground as he landed. Tiamat staggered up...before War jumped up. He grabbed his sword with both hands- and forced Chaoseater into her wing.

While on the wing, as Tiamat flailed in pain, he positioned himself just right…until Tiamat moved her wings in the center. He quickly grabbed the other wing, while he still has his hand his sword still plunged into the wing and _pulled._ Tiamat tried to get him off, but War would not let go nor would he relent. And then…with a roar, he practically _ripped_ the Bat Queen's wings off, jumping into the air with them. Tiamat screeched in pain, falling onto her back. War flipped in the air, discarding the wings to fall to the ground below, he landed on Tiamat's chest.

Somewhere in the cathedral, the hands turned…before it strikes twelve. The bell toll throughout, those in the area able to hear it.

As the bell rings, War raised his left arm as Tiamat panted. "Horseman…" she began.

His left arm is still raised, but it shook before the Watcher emerged. "Do it!" The Watcher ordered. "Tear her out her Heart while she still lives… I want to hear her scream!"

"…I am…one of the Chosen…" Tiamat spoke up. "I can grant…your every wish…"

War slightly narrowed his eyes. "Can you restore the Balance?"

Tiamat gave a look before she cackled. War furrowed his brows. He didn't think so. He roared before plunging his iron fist into her chest. Blood splattered out from the hole he made, punching through bone effortlessly. Tiamat screamed in agony at this deed…yet she couldn't do anything once his hand got a grip on something. Something large, pulsing…

He quickly pulled it out. Tiamat's screams ceased, with her body spasming a few times before slowly going still. At the same time, the bell had stopped ringing. War looked over at the heart on his hand. Shaped in a heart with markings over it…yet though it's still beating in his hand, he can feel a pulse of power within it.

The Watcher let out a tickled chuckle. "No wonder Samael wants this thing," it said, "it's _coursing_ with power!" It gave a look at War. "You really think he's going to let you live long enough to collect on your end?"

The Nephilim gave a look. He isn't sure…but he had managed to survive this encounter. He squeezed the heart- before he 'crushed' it. All he did was put the heart into his gauntlet, like he had done with the Crossblade and Chaoseater. No need to accidentally lose the heart during a fight or an accident after all.

War slid down Tiamat's body as it disintegrates. "Well, we got the heart, now let's get out of here," the Watcher said.

"What about the boy?" War asked.

"Are you seriously concerned with him?" the Watcher asked, eyes a little narrowed. "He survived until now. Good for him. But now he's dead."

"I'M NOT DEAD!" the boy hollered, with the two perking up.

"...Oh, damn it all." The Watcher muttered with War soon walking over to the side the source of the voice came from Sora was seen hanging near the bottom of a railing with his right hand.

His left arm hangs a bit uselessly by his side, the boy looking up. "...Uh...can you help me up? Please?"

War raised an eyebrow at him. The boy managed to save himself from falling to his doom? The Nephilim wordlessly reached over and grabs his arm. The boy weighed little to him, and sets him on the floor.

"Thanks," he breathed out. He looked around. "Where's Tiamat?" He asked.

"Dead," War answered.

"Oh." The boy looked around some more. "...I guess there's nothing here to do now. And I didn't find anything here."

"Yes. We'll have to find a way down somehow and move on," War said as the boy noticed something on him. A wound Tiamat managed to get onto him.

"Hey, are you okay?" The boy asked, seeing something on War's side. "Did you get hit there?"

"It's nothing too serious," War said, lightly brushing him off. "It'll heal when I attain-"

"Here let me help." Sora insisted with the boy holding his hand up.

"You're low on magic," War said. "You shouldn't waste more on me."

"At least let me do this," Sora insisted.

The man looked over at him before sighing. He lifts his arm a little. "Fine."

Sora nodded before he closed his eyes. "So, what fancy trick would you have?" the Watcher asked rhetorically. "Probably something based on flowers?"

The boy didn't say anything. He held up his right hand to the wound...and a soft green glow covers it.

The Nephilim made an intrigued grunt at that, as the glow persists.

After a few moments, the glow ended. Sora opened his eyes. "There we go. Uh..." he looks at War. "Does...it still hurt?"

War didn't say anything, looking at his side. "...War?" Sora asked him. He can't even read his expression. It's hard to tell on what he's thinking.

But soon enough...the man lowers his arm. "It doesn't."

"Oh, really?" Sora asked. War gave a curt nod. "Well, that's a relief."

"…What was that power though?" The Nephilim questioned the male.

"That was a power a friend of mine taught me." Sora replied. "It's a heal ability without consuming magic." He then scratches his head. "But… mine seems to be surprisingly strong according to her."

"...Hmmm," War grunted.

"It's the truth," Sora said. "My magic just seems...stronger for some reason. But at least I managed to get that down."

"...I see," the man said. He glanced to Sora's left arm. "...Your arm is dislocated again," he stated.

"Oh. Uh...don't worry about it," the boy said. "I'll get it fixed up again, just..."

War didn't let him finish, using his left gauntlet to hold him in place, grabbed his left arm and forced it back.

"Guh...!" Sora let out. After he was released, the boy took in a breath sharply through his teeth, holding his arm tenderly.

"We're even," War said.

Sora gave him a suspicious look. "Are you secretly a sadist...?" He muttered.

"No." He answered with a look. "I'm more of a case of a warrior. Try not to get your arm dislocated again."

Sora looked over at his arm, moving it a bit. "...Right," he nodded. The boy looked around. "So... how do we get down? Tiamat pretty much destroyed the bridge..."

The Watcher went by (and War didn't miss the look it was giving the boy). "Well...looks like it's time that I'll be useful," it said. It held out its arms...and it formed a spell circle with an aura coming out of it. "This would take us outside of the cathedral."

"Oh. A warp portal," Sora let out, looking over at it. "Neat."

"I only did this to just get us out of here," the Watcher said, pointing its long finger at him. "But that's it."

Sora gave a look at it. "Right, right." Sora looked over at it. "Well, let's go then," he said. "Maybe the rain would let up later." He walked over to the portal, looking over at it.

As he did, War looked over at the boy, before at his side.

That level of power...it reminded him of...

The man felt his mouth go into a small frown...before he shook his head a bit.

No. He shouldn't waste his time, thinking about the past.

The Nephilim headed to the portal.

* * *

 **The end of the chapter...and the Twilight Cathedral arc. And it seems that there's...something a bit more about Sora. Hmm. I wonder...**

 **On the side note:**

 **I'm going to be taking a small break to get back into the groove. When I have more chapters typed up, I'll go back to updating them like how I've been updating them. Like, I'm still human. I can't just grind all of these out just because I can. Even my brain needs rest.**

 **With that said, leave a review and you all have a nice day (or night depending on where you are in the world).**


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